The Client and His Bodyguard
by animefreak1457
Summary: Three years ago, Kei returned to Japan to attend Hakusenkan high school to only find out that Hikari disappeared after her family's death. Now, when the Takishima family is threatened, the Taishou family arrives with soldiers and... Hikari!
1. Where do we start?

**Me: Yo! This is AF speaking, and I am here to say that I will be making an S.A. story that involves romance, drama, humor, and mystery!**

**CTE: What the hell are you doing?**

**Me: I'm introducing a new story that I was planning for a while.**

**SAN: You mean the dream you had about what if Kei left for London and stuff?**

**Me: Yeah! That second to last episode made my heart pound! I thought he was going to leave Hikari, and my dream showed an alternative ending!**

**CTE: Good grief. That dream of yours is close to becoming a drama movie.**

**SAN: But! But! It was so sad… her dream was…**

**CTE: SAN, before I puke flowers and bunnies… Do. Not. Start. Talking. About it.**

**Me: I don't own Special A, so don't even bother reporting me that I steal the show. Flames and criticisms are welcome that would mean to improve my writing skills.**

Chapter 1: Where do we start?

It is known that when a love one dies, you would have to move on because your love one would want you to move on with your life. It is hard to believe that the special person is gone, but reality kicks in real hard that people have to move on in their lives. Many people have come in terms that this is how life is: people are born, live to their fullest life, and die at the end. People are not immortal beings; they die like all living things do. It's a never-ending cycle, and life can be cruel through human eyes. Well, the statement about the special person wanting others to move on was easier said and done, but for Kei… he really wished that he believed in that statement.

Kei Takishima, a graduate from S.A. High School and one of the graduates from Tokyo University with many master business degrees, had finished looking over the final disc from his father and mother's company. He sighed and leaned against the chair, feeling worn out from working overnight. It was very late for him as the stars twinkled above them along with a bright, full moon, but he was able to get a much-needed rest.

Many other industrial employers considered and gave him many titles: a gifted person with many talents, a perfect model of a businessmen, and the top number one person to ever set news in the media. His blondish-brown hair is styled neatly; his piercing eyes would make all girls melt; his facial structure is so strong that it seemed that he lost the baby fat; at the age of 20, he was a bachelor for many available girls who would ask him to marry them. He had fame... fortune... everything what people wanted.

However, the last part he couldn't have was love. No, Kei wasn't worried about family love or friend love. His mother and father provided him that type of love in their own way: his baby-faced father would hug him by the leg, and his mother would mail him about her days in Australia. His little brother adores him completely, so he couldn't say anything much from the little brother way. It was strange that his family's love could give him such an unconditional love while he was attending a London high school, and it was still strange that they still love him after he made a terrible choice.

He had friends who are still sticking to him through good and bad times. Normally, friendships end by a snap if a friend did a horrible mistake that would betray his friends' trust. However, these types of friends wouldn't leave out an S.A. member. Even though his friends are probably in college somewhere else or running their business, his friends would visit him when they have time, and on certain days, they would gather in one of their villas, reminiscing about their past and moments since they were in S.A. class.

He looked at the picture when he and the other members of the S.A. class had a picture together. Kei bitterly smiled as he remembered their reaction when he returned after his grandfather's death. When his grandfather died one year after Kei's transfer, Kei was free from his control and immediately transfered himself back to Hakusenkan high school. He was so eager to go back to Japan that he made plans to make everything up for his friends, especially with the special someone. When he returned, everyone was so surprised that the legendary Kei Takishima returned from London. They all greeted him, and he greeted back. However, he was anxious to see his old friends, up the hill where the old greenhouse stood.

Would they embrace him? Would they beat the life out of him until they were done maiming him? Would the certain someone come running up to him and hug him? His heart felt like it was going to explode as he reached the knob. As he opened the door, all of the S.A. members were shocked to see that Kei has returned. Kei looked around to find Akira, Tadashi, Jun, Megumi, and Ryuu present. His friends were all happy to see him back, and the good news about the Takishima group was that it is now under his mother's control. They were wanted to celebrate for Kei's return, but they realized in horror that one person missing from the group was his rival and special person. Takishima realized that something was wrong and knew that something happened to "Miss Rank Two." When his friends told him about the news, his heart stopped.

"_Hikari's family was killed by the fire at her home, and Hikari had disappeared without a word._"

He could only stare at the girl with black, long hair who smiled brightly. He couldn't have the love like two people being in love with each other and truly understanding how one feels for another. His emotions were longing and hoping for the certain girl to appear, challenging him to a contest... smiling with him as they enjoyed their days together. He never so much wanted to restart their whole lives together and make sure that Hikari is safe from harms way. He thought that telling them to not come was a good thing for their future, but the news made him regret his decision because he messed up Hikari's future. Kei wanted Hikari, who changed his life and who could made him smile, to appear in front of his door, so he could just hold her in his arms, willing to do anything for her and never leaving her alone. However, days pass by, and his love grows stronger for the girl as his hope began to wither away like a flower.

"Onii-chan..." Kei heard a soft voice and turned around to see his young 10-year old brother out the door.

"Sui. What are you doing up so late?" The younger Takishima member looked at the picture behind his brother and shook his head.

"I could say the same thing to you, onii-chan. You need to go to sleep. Okaa-san's not going to like it when she sees you with bags under your eyes." Kei turned his chair around to look at the picture. Time pass by as you work constantly without realizing what year it was. Three years ago, Sui was a young child who admires Kei and a stubborn kid with an attitude that everyone would find him as a brat. Now, he is a 10-year old kid with a smart mouth, and he would likely to cause trouble with that mouth of his.

"Go to sleep, Sui. I will be retiring to bed." The younger brother sighed and turned around.

"You better go to sleep, or I will tell okaa-san about you staying up late." With that, Sui closed the door, leaving Kei alone in the room. The eldest brother continued to stare at the picture, not wanting to take his eyes away from her smiling face. However, his vision began to swirl as the drowsiness began to take effect.

_Hikari…_

Kei tried to stay awake, but his eyes couldn't hold up and began to close his vision, leaving Kei to slumber a dream.

0000

"Damn. I got beaten again." A young woman wiped the trail of blood from her mouth as she was sitting on grass and dirt. A minute ago, she and a certain person had a fight, and that certain person won again, landing a punch across her cheek to end the challenge. Her forest green khaki pants and her bared feet were already caked with mud by the struggle, and the grass stained her white tank top. Her black, long hair was tied into a high ponytail, ruffled by the fight, as her black eyes squinted with frustration. She was becoming beautiful for a 20-year-old woman, but her hair bangs covered her scar on her forehead, hiding her pain and suffering under the dirty hair.

"First, I couldn't beat Takishima, now I couldn't beat him." She closed her eyes and punched the dirt with full force. She couldn't… no… she could no longer cry, and she believed that all those tears have already run out. The woman sighed sadly and took out a locket, opening it to reveal her and her family. A father, a mother, an older brother…

Her name was Hikari Hanazono, the last surviving member of the Hanazono family. So many events have happened since these past three years, and she felt like she had changed. The first event started when her rival disappeared and left a note on his uniform. He said that he was going to London to keep the S.A. class together, and he doesn't want anyone, not even Hikari, to find him. If they did, he would then remove the privileges and destroy the greenhouse with one command. It left Hikari heartbroken and made her realize that she fell in love with her rival. After her rival disappeared and left her old high school, everyone felt that they couldn't do anything since then. Hikari felt that she had no challenge in her life if her rival wasn't there.

The second event started was the death of her family. The next few months, she and her brother were talking about plans for her brother's future since he would be graduating soon. She and her older brother, Atsushi, had a close relationship, and all of Hikari's sadness disappeared when she talked with her brother. It was a peaceful day for the Hanazono family until someone came into her home unnoticeably and set firecrackers everywhere. The firecrackers started to create small flames until those small flames burst into a blazing wild fire. The two Hanazono siblings rushed downstairs to find their mother. The kitchen was blazing with fire around the room, and through Hikari's eyes, the kitchen exploded and killed her mother, making her the first victim.

The next one was her father. When a gunshot was heard nearby, the two Hanazono siblings rushed to the living room to see their father on the floor, not moving. Hikari couldn't scream for her father, too shocked to witness the terrible event in her life. Her brother brought her back to reality, grabbed her by the wrist, and ran to the final exit. Hikari screamed and told Atsushi that they have to go back to their dad, but Atsushi argued back with a scary face that was supposed to make Hikari faint.

"_Hikari! There's nothing we could do for him now! All what Okaa-san and Otou-san want for us is to continue living and survive!_"

Hikari didn't understand why her brother was angry, but his scary face looked like he was scared instead, making her feel scared. When they reached to the exit, the door was open, but the flaming, fallen roof was blocking half of the entrance, making the top half open for only one person. Hikari was going to throw her brother out but felt herself being thrown in the air. She could remember her brother's face… and his words as she was in the air and out of the flaming house. Atsushi was smiling and crying, and his final words were "_Do your best, Hikari._" No longer than those words, her house collapsed, burying her family under the fire. Hikari couldn't handle the fear anymore and fainted on one spot, silently crying for her family.

The young woman flopped down on the green pasture, staring up at the red sky and the setting sun. It was no longer that after her family's death, she found herself in a hospital and was told about the news. She didn't care anymore and already expected the worse. She couldn't attend Hakusenkan high school anymore. She couldn't find another place to live. She couldn't ask anyone for help because Hikari was beyond help herself. She didn't care what happens because whoever destroyed her family and home also destroyed the hope she had. She could remember that the next few days after the tragic event, some family adopted her into their home, and… well… here she is. Trying to find out why was she fighting her way out of this.

"Hika-nee-san!" Her large black eyes opened to see another pair of large black eyes. Hikari smiled, remembering the little girl who is looking at her.

"Namaka-chan. Konichiwa." The little girl smiled and lay besides her, resting her small head on her "big sister's" stomach. Hikari would normally shove off kids because they wanted to take advantage of her, but this little girl was with her all the way since the girl was too young to understand the concept between the "big sister," "cousins," and "mother." The five-year-old child understood the difference, but the attachment between the "sisters" is already considered a mother-child relationship. The little girl just looked like Hikari when Hikari was young: black long hair, large black eyes, tan skin, and a smile to match. The only difference about them was that the young Hikari had innocence in her eyes as the grown Hikari had to witness a tragedy. Hikari noticed that the sun was going lower, and it was getting late.

"Ne… Namaka-chan. Let's go home. Obaa-san and Onii-san will worry about us if we stayed out too long." The little girl whined, not wanting to go back. Hikari scolded lightly.

"Namaka-chan…" The little girl pouted.

"Fine… but I don't like Onii-chan." Hikari sat up and carried the young girl into her arms. Hikari didn't feel this protective after her family's death. It's probably the young girl reminded so much of herself that she was once innocent and too young to understand. Hikari stood up and walked out of the pasture, heading for the large mansion up ahead.

"Why is that?"

"He's mean… and… and he is hurting Hika-nee-san!" Hikari smiled sadly. It's probably best if she told the girl a little lie.

"It's because he's trying to protect us from the bad people who would want to hurt us. He is training me to become stronger, so I could protect you." The little girl scowled and placed her head on Hikari's shoulder.

"He'd better because I don't like the way he is teaching Hika-nee-san." Hikari looked up to the house, hoping that she doesn't cross paths with him.

0000

"Takishima-sama!" A maid ran up to the baby-faced Takishima, panting and looking frantic about something. The father was surprised. Usually, this doesn't happen too often unless it was an emergency.

"Nani? Nan deska?" The father asked, and the maid gave him a black envelope.

"It's terrible! When I was about to clean your office, I found this on your desk. I know that you ordered us that if something looks unnecessary, just throw it away. However, this doesn't look unnecessary, and it seems suspicious." The father frowned and took the envelope from her hand. The envelope was black, and it had a skull seal on the opening, He removed the seal and opened the envelope. Inside, there was a black letter, so he was cautious that if it would set off, he would get his bodyguards to get rid of it quickly. He opened it without hesitation and with guard, but the letter didn't explode. No…

By reading what's inside the letter, his emotions exploded into panic.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" The maid jumped and asked.

"Takishima-sama?! What's wrong?" The father grabbed the maid and ordered her.

"Go to my office, and find the Taishou's family number. Tell them that they must come over to my office immediately that a threat letter has arrived in my office." The maid nodded quickly and ran.

"Right away, sir!"

"Otou-san!" Kei ran to his father with Sui behind him.

"Otou-san! Daijoubou?" The father panicked.

"No time! Kei, Sui, you two must come with me to my office for a discussion with the Taishou family!" Kei sighed, not feeling like to deal with his father's antics again.

"What happened this time? If it's a meeting, I refuse." His father grabbed his son's shoulder so firm that Kei was surprised how serious this was.

"No. I cannot leave you or Sui alone. Right now, we are threatened by someone who wants to destroy the Takishima family." Kei sighed, feeling the headache coming up.

"If they want to destroy us, wouldn't we have the advantage to find out who is doing this?" His father shook his head.

"No. We are not that capable to find out whom is threatening families. Only one family is capable to protect and to figure out who is behind all this, and the Taishou family is the only family who could figure this all out. They are coming right now, and you and Sui must come with me to hear the situation." Kei's eyes widened. The Taishou family is a very famous and very protective group who could solve cases without fail and protect companies and families who are being threatened by dangerous groups. They have trained soldiers and bodyguards equal to an American S.W.A.T. team and taught them military survival skills and combat. Members of the Taishou family can be either leaders or second in commands, and they have caught more than one hundred dangerous people. When his father said that the Taishou family is coming, this means serious business.

"Let's go, otou-san. Sui, come with us. You have to understand why this meeting is important."

0000

"What? We're leaving today?" Hikari asked in English. Just when she was going to sleep, another trouble started out of the blue. A soldier, from her platoon, delivered the message to Hikari and nodded.

"Yes. Your grandmother had a call from one of the families that a threat letter has reached into their home, and it is threatening to kill all of the family members and workers. Right now, she wants you, her granddaughter, some men from our platoon, and the captain to protect this family. She said that this is a very important mission because this family is very famous and well-known throughout the world." Hikari sighed and waved off.

"Okay, soldier. You're dismissed." The soldier saluted and left Hikari to return to his own room. Hikari touched her scar and looked at the slightly burnt picture behind her. It was the only picture that was still in one piece, and just by looking at it made her depressed.

"Onii-chan, why does he have to look like you? Only… much colder?"

**Okay. I can take any criticisms from anyone, so I could improve this story and writing. If anyone has anything to say, just punch me through your thoughts.**


	2. Do my eyes deceive me?

**Me: Okay. Now working on three stories and college work, I am going to be busy for the freaking rest of the Fall semester. Man, this is giving me a headache.**

**CTE: Shut up and help us on the stories.**

**Me: Fine… Oh, and those who are confused about the mystery guy, Hikari is getting hurt by him, but she doesn't want the little girl to know her pain because Namaka reminds her of her own child self. Also, the first chapter doesn't tell about the certain person who Hikari fought is because she doesn't want to talk or be reminded about it. Now, the mystery guy is now introduced so make sure you know.**

**I don't own S.A.**

Chapter 2: Do my eyes deceive me?

"Nani?! We're going to Japan to capture an dangerous criminal who has been assassinating families around the world?!" The young woman asked the old woman in surprise. The old woman nodded and held her hands together.

"Hai, Hikari-chan." Her rough, yet kind, voice answered to the woman. The old woman wore a red cotton suit and cotton pants to keep herself warm. Her leather shoes were kept her feet warm, and her gray hair was tied into a bun to hold her hair into place. Her facial appearance looked like she was still young, but the wrinkles close to her eyes were shown, making her eyes look sharp and smaller.

"There has been recent activities that one of the top five wanted criminals has been threatening families in Japan, and the government accepted our request for us to find this person while they would arrest and interrogate the culprit. The mission will take a long time because the enemy would attack randomly and has sent a threat letter as a warning that the assassin is coming, so all of us would need the best people to figure where the enemy will attack." Hikari frowned and wondered.

"Why does the government need us? Can they figure this out with their agencies?" President Taishou shook her head and explained.

"We, the Taishou family, are famous for their protection as well as finding secret information that other detective agencies couldn't find. We may have been trained under Special Forces around the world, but we do not interfere with the government's work. We follow what they say, find the culprit, and let them do what they do unless they need our assistance as reinforcements." Hikari nodded and looked outside of the window. The members of the Taishou family and the chosen platoons were inside two fast jets to reach to their destination immediately. Hikari, Namaka, and the old woman were in one jet with three other leaders of their platoon and two Lieutenants. The other jet was full of experienced soldiers who have previously taken missions dangerous as this, and Hikari knew that as long she was with the old woman and the child, she wouldn't have to deal with _him_ on the other jet. It has been a long time since she had returned to her birthplace, and she somewhat was excited to return. She also dreaded from returning because she left her friends without a word and her dead family.

She wondered about her friends and their reaction. Hikari did make them worry after her sudden disappearance, but what could she do? She lost her cell phone in the fire, and the Taishou family told her to find anything else that have survived in the burnt debris and leave immediately. It was their policy, and as long she is living with the Taishou family, she _must_ obey and follow what objective she was given; no matter how much she hated the person or the mission. She sighed. It seems that fate was playing with her once again, and this wasn't going to leave her in peace.

"Hika-nee-san! Obaa-san! What's Japan like? Is it like in the shows in cartoons? Are there trees that have pink flowers? Are there toys that are ugly and funny?" Hikari smiled softly, petting the curious girl on the head.

"Hai. It's like that, only much realistic." One of the captains with messy brown hair leaned back, grinning like an idiot and chuckling.

"How long did the kid watch cartoons, Hikari? It's going to be a bad influence on her one of these days." Hikari knew that this captain and the other leader understood Japanese besides her. Therefore, she could talk to one of them without worry and could keep her language strong. A blond-haired Lieutenant who had a buzz cut rolled his eyes and smacked the captain upside on the head.

"Ow! Is that anyway to treat your captain, Lieutenant David?!" Lieutenant David immediately glared at the captain, who cringed under his green eyes.

"It is not how a captain should act, Captain Tony. You must get rid of those ridiculous shows from your laptop, or I will get rid of them." Captain Tony started to whine and beg for David to not erase them, even though Tony has the higher status than David. Annoyed by the captain's persistent begging, the lieutenant immediately tried shaking him off from his foot and sometimes smacking him on the head. The president of the Taishou family looked alarmed when she saw her young granddaughter being interested in such violence.

"Ah! Namaka-chan. Let's go see how far we are to Japan up close." Namaka looked at her grandmother and smiled, nodding enthusiastically. The grandmother stood up and took the little girl's hand, walking away from the violent scene. David stopped what he was doing as everyone stared at both of the idiots with a "ha-ha-you-just-stepped-up-to-the-next-level-of-idiocy" or "did-you-know-that-you-just-made-fools-out-yourselves?" face.

"It's a good thing that Lieutenant David isn't like the Colonel, or we had our hides clean. Right, Captain Nicky?" A red shorthaired man grinned as they were staring at the usual scene when it was just the higher ranks. Hikari looked at the woman who had her brown, wavy hair tied into a low ponytail, waiting for her response. Her brown eyes showed kindness like the old woman, but she had a strict policy from saying such kind words and disrespecting those who are higher than her.

"Lieutenant David and the Colonel are not like each other, Lieutenant Sean. The Colonel is far more skilled and is to be respected at all times. You need to learn to watch your tongue of yours." The redhead backed off and said that he didn't mean anything like that. Another man, who had the small black hair tied to a small rattail, smiled and tried to reassure the platoon.

"Now, now. I'm sure that Lieutenant Sean didn't mean anything." The female captain flushed and retorted back in surprise.

"M-Major Michael? But he needs to learn to-" The man kindly smiled.

"It's just who he is, Captain Nicky. Even though he doesn't take things seriously, he does take missions far more serious and careful like any other officers." Captain Nicky flushed again and bowed her head.

"I-I'm sorry, Major." After the beat up by one of her comrades, the plane was quiet again. David and Nicky were sleeping, getting much rest needed after dealing with the idiots in the plane. Sean and Tony were grinning as they were laughing at the comedy movie, Major Payne. It's too bad that they had bumps on their heads during the movie, curtsey by the enraged brunette woman. Michael was relaxing with the headphones on, probably listening to the classical music.

"Hey, Hikari!" The young woman looked up to see Captain Tony, grinning like he always does. Man… he just reminds her about Tadashi back in Hakusenkan high school.

"Where are you going after this mission is finished?" Hkari didn't know what to say. She wanted to visit her friends in Japan, but… she wasn't sure if they were really there.

"I… I don't know. I have to figure out what to do." She looked up and asked.

"What about you?" He grinned and pointed to himself.

"I am planning to see my folks in Tokyo after this. I mean… you have a family to go visit, right?" Hikari's heart dropped when he asked that question. Everyone, who sensed that something's wrong in the atmosphere, immediately snapped out of their peaceful expressions and scolded the captain.

"Captain Tony!" The female captain scolded, "Don't you remember what happened to Lieutenant Colonel Hanazono?!" Tony froze in fear, realizing what he just said, and panicked.

"Oh cr-"

"Captain." Lieutenant David hissed, and the captain corrected himself, bowing his upper body down.

"I-I'm sorry, Hikari." Hikari smiled. These officers were like another family to her after her original family was killed. Even though she was in a higher rank, she was treated like a little sister instead of a soldier. These people, especially her grandmother, Namaka, and _him_, heard what happened to her after she was recruited to their platoon.

"It's fine. I'll visit them. After all, I do owe them a lot." Yes. For all the trouble she gave to her family, for pushing her father to send her to rich schools, for making her mother mad when she was cooking, for making her brother worry about her… for getting them killed, she really owe them a lot.

0000

It was tense in his father's office, and only his father was nervous in the room. Sui and Kei Takishima were standing next to his father for the president of the Taishou family to arrive. The two Takishima brothers couldn't get out of this because it was an important matter. Not only that, security has tightened around the house and in every corner, even in their own room. The guards would only let important people to have matters with the Takishima family. Whatever spooked their father must have been an important matter.

"It's _so_ boring!" Sui whined as they continued to wait for the Taishou family. Kei sighed. This was getting pointless on waiting, and they were nowhere in sight or heard. However, he had to scold his little brother since his father is spineless.

"Be patient. They are going to be here any moment now." They waited for another few minutes, and it was too quiet for them. Sui, feeling tired and bored, was going to speak until they heard the intercom speaking.

"Takishima-sama. A member of the Taishou family, Kimajime Taishou, has arrived and said that the president and the other members would arrive later. Until then, they asked permission to do something to the house while the president arrives. Should we let the soldiers in first to do their business?" Satoru pressed the intercom and replied back.

"Hai. Let them what they do. They are known to keep families safe from attacks."

"Hai, Takishima-sama." The intercom went off as the sound of the creaking gates opened for the soldiers. Four, forest-colored trucks with a cloth, covered back drove through and circled around the fountain. A ramp automatically slid down to the ground, and one of the soldiers pulled the metal door, getting all of the other soldiers out.

All of the soldiers had helmets on, and the screen covered their faces, making them faceless. Their black bulletproof vest had many pockets, and their ammo and weapons are connected to their belts. Their leather-gloved hands held equipments, cameras, and sensors to detect any activities around the area and thick-glassed barriers to cover the windows inside of the mansion. They ran around the area, jumped on and off the trees, and land on the ground with their leather boots, cushioning their landing. Some of the members have forest green uniforms and worked on the outside of the mansion, and the others have black uniforms, working inside the mansion.

"Move it, maggots!" One soldier yelled out loud. Without a helmet on, the person is recognizable if they were outside. The person might be a higher rank than all of those who are running around since he was doing all of the commanding. Like any other person, he black hair was a little messy, and his sharp eyes matched the color of his hair. His facial structure was strong and stern, making him fearless and dangerous. The only thing that made him very serious and looked dangerous was the scar on his right cheek that reached from the lower jaw close to his neck up close to the edge of his nose.

"We do not have time left! The president expects us to make everything perfect, so don't mess up the equipment. Remember! One little mistake could blow up everything we work for, and nobody wants to blow up everything! Understood?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" All of the men yelled out and increased their pace. Sui was watching from out of the window, surprised of how much control that one person had over more than a hundred of soldiers.

"Eh? Otou-san! Nii-chan! That guy is leading all of those guys around like he is the leader. Is he Kimajime Taishou?" Kei answered Sui's wonder by what he remembered.

"Hai. Kimajime Taishou is the grandson of the current president, Kenbo Taishou, and the late president, Gunshou Taishou. He has been taking command after graduating from the Military ROTC in the University of Maryland and Phoenix." They later heard many stomps coming in on spot, and the leader yelling outside. Taking no heed to their arrival, Kei continued.

"He has taken many martial arts classes and is currently a sixth degree black belt. He is only well known through military defenses and combat through news around the world, and he has competed in the Olympics, winning six gold metals. His soldiers, including his superiors, respect him by his leadership and his power." Sui was surprised about this Taishou member and looked back to see that the lined-up soldiers bowing to the Taishou family.

Then, he did a double take.

"Nani?! Nii-chan! Take a look at this!" Kei wondered what was Sui calling him for. When he walked up to the window, he saw the Taishou family walking down the path to their house.

What got him the most was the young woman with long, black hair walking beside the old woman.

"Hikari?"

0000

"Hikari. Remember this. This family is famous for their big cooperation and is well known everywhere. If any one of them happens to them, the Taishou family, including you, is responsible for the situation. You must never show your fear to anyone, no matter how intimidating they are." She glimpsed at Hikari and whispered in compassion.

"If there is any concern, just tell me, and I will help you. Remember, you are a Taishou member, a cousin to Namaka-chan and Kimajime-chan, despite the fact that you are retaining your last name."

The young woman nodded silently as she watched the little girl to make sure that Namaka doesn't trip on the stairs. Hikari didn't recognize the place, but it seemed familiar to her. Of course, the places she went with her high school friends were all the same: big, fancy, and neat. The family that they agreed to protect must be one of the big shot companies, and criminals, who wanted big money, probably targeted them.

A sudden thought of Kei Takishima came to her mind, and she couldn't breathe. Her chest tightened as old memories were crawling into her conscious, making her losing judgment and focus on why she was here. She quickly shook them off and somehow chained those memories back in her mind. Those memories had distracted her from training and studying, and she forced herself to move on, picking up the pieces of her broken heart and putting them back on her own. She had enough of losing the people she held dear, and she trained so much to protect her family, devoting herself to not lose her family again. Her goal changed from dreaming to become a pro-wrestler to defending people without fearing death.

The doors suddenly opened with a bang, and all the soldiers had their heads turned to see two young men and a young boy. They were all surprised to see the Takishima family in public, but Hikari went pale and felt cold, wanting to disappear from everyone's sight.

"Hikari-chaaaan!" The young man, who looked like a high school kid, ran straight to the surprised girl and tried to hug her. Instincts took over her conscious, and she sidestepped away from the man's range, making him crash against the ground. She held her breath, feeling that all eyes were staring straight at her. Hikari really wished that fate would stop playing with her. She already had enough and wanted to go back home, especially away from Kei who seemed to stare at her the most. The grandmother sighed and walked to the father's sprawling figure.

"It's nice to meet you, Satoru-san." The young man quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off his suit.

"Oh! Taishou-san, it's nice to meet you too. I was trying to greet Hikari-chan since we hadn't seen each other for quite a while now." The old woman glanced at Hikari who turned her face away.

"I… see." The father clapped his hands together and smiled.

"I heard many stories about you and your previous achievements, Taishou-san. You have taken so many dangerous missions over the past wars, and you have been through tortures and battles in the field. Everyone says that you are a legend. A piece of history for the next generation to understand the achievements of the Taishou family." The old woman nodded.

"Hai. However, this piece of history is a retired Field Marshal now, and I am placing my hopes on my grandchildren. Therefore, just call me Taishou or Kenbo-san. I feel more comfortable with the name." The grandmother looked at Hikari who was still looking away and back to the adult Takishima.

"It was quite… interesting to see your greeting toward my granddaughter, Hikari." The older Takishima member stuttered and looked at the young woman who bowed her head to not look up.

"G-g-g-g-grand-d-d-d-d-daughter? H-H-Hikari?" Hikari didn't feel comfortable, so the grandmother decided to take action.

"Let's leave to your office to discuss the issue, Satoru-san. My grandchildren will need to work and prepare for the upcoming attacks." Kenbo held the youngest grandchild's hand and walked ahead.

"Come, Namaka-chan. You will stay inside with his youngest child. Adults need to work, especially Hanazono-san." The child whined and asked why every single time when she wanted Hikari to come with them. Satoru looked at Hikari and asked.

"Hikari-chan? Daijoubou?" She bit her lip, not saying anything to her uncle or any of their clients under _his_ orders.

"…"

"Satoru-san. We need to talk in your office." Her grandmother called out to save Hikari from further distress. The baby-faced Takishima hesitated for a bit before walking ahead. The youngest Takishima member looked at his father in worry and back to the young woman. Feeling the tension in the atmosphere, he followed his father without looking back or calling his brother to follow him. When they were gone, Hikari could feel everyone's eyes boring a hole on her back.

_Enough. Stop wallowing over someone who just left you and your friends. _

Immediately straightening her back and attitude, she yelled out in English with much force and strength in her voice.

0000

"What are you doing, soldiers? You heard President Taishou. Move!" The soldiers sort of moved, but they were still looking at her. The raven-haired man shouted, making things clear about her orders.

"Are you going to stand there and be idiots? You heard what the lady said. Move your sorry butts to your positions!" This time, all soldiers were scrambling and immediately returned to their posts, not wanting to face the end of his wrath. While the men were moving, Kei took his opportunity to rush where Hikari was standing. He stopped behind Hikari and tried to speak her name. The information was too much for him to handle, and the sight of her alive gave him so much joy and happiness.

She was alive. She was there in one piece like nothing happened to her. He was so happy that he wanted to hug her and tell her how sorry he was to leave her. He wanted to make everything up for her and to let her have fun so he could feel that he is having fun. He shook his head quickly and tried to speak her name.

"Hi-"

"Hanazono-chusa." Kei and Hikari turned around to see the scarred man walking toward their direction.

"When you are assigned to any mission, remember to report every activity to me. If there is a problem with the equipment, let Tony-taichou or David-fukutaichou know. Don't do things that are not your assigned section. Is that clear, Hanazono-chusa? " He seemed angry and looked at Hikari with those eyes. Hikari looked down and bowed to the man who was in command.

"Hai. Understood, Taishou-taisa." The colonel nodded and walked by, away from the Takishima heir and the Hanazono survivor.

"Do not forget your loss from our last fight. I win, so you have to follow orders." If the young woman could cringe anymore, she would look like she was saying sorry with her shaking body.

"Hai, Taishou-taisa." Kei glanced at Hikari, and his breathing stopped when he looked at her expression. She looked sad and submissive, reminding himself when he… No! He wasn't going back there again, and he wasn't going to let her feel his pain.

Kei felt anger surging through his veins and glared at the Taishou grandson with an evil aura around him, wanting that man to disappear. How dare he put down her with his words! Hikari is one of the best people who are fair and kind, and that man seemed to take her will away just by one glance. When the man was gone, Hikari stood up straight and looked at Takishima with a sad smile and regretful eyes. Kei looked at her closely at the eyes. Her eyes showed tiredness and pain, speaking out more than what she could say. Signs of giving up were there, and the torture she had been through had Kei freezing where he was standing.

"Gomen nasai, Takishima-sama. I have to work now. Probably, if we have time," she closed her eyes, trying to look cheerful, "we could still talk."

Like a stone, Kei's heart cracked by those words and how they are sounded. He knew that by her ranking, she couldn't speak out like a normal person does. The sadness and pain were right there behind Hikari's words, and the name she addressed to him meant that Hikari no longer had the strength that she once held. The conversation betweem them ended when Hikari bowed to him, letting her long hair flow down from her back, and walked away from him. Kei tried to speak her name out once more, but she was already far away from her hearing range.

He felt himself coming back alive. His muscles were getting tense; his mind cleared any depressing thoughts that held him back; his eyes became sharper and more focused. Kei, who once lost his moral to go on, now had a goal in life and the strength to do something.

_Hikari, I will bring you back. I will free you from your cage that you have been forced to live in. Hikari…_

"I will bring you home."

**It seems that Kei now has a purpose in life when Hikari is seen alive. If you remembered the previous chapter, she has changed a lot because the grandson of the Taishou family, who looks mean, serious, and dangerous, won against her on the fights they had. Tension is rising, and this means that I am gonna work on the other chapters for my stories before the break. Give me criticisms, and I will work on the next chapter even harder.**

**For terms for ranking and names:**

**Taichou= captain**

**Fukutaichou= vice captain**

**Chusa= lieutenant colonel**

**Taisa= colonel**

**Taishou= "Great victory"**

**Namaka= "Superficial knowledge"**

**Kimajime= "Person who is too serious"**

**Kenbo= "Wise mother"**

**Gunshou= "Army commander"**


	3. Can you ever forgive me?

**Okay, guys. I really need help from you to give me tips on working out this story. I am glad that you all are enjoying this, but please point out mistakes that I really need to pay attention. **

**For answers to the scarred man, his name is Kimajime. He is the certain person who beat Hikari, and she has to pay the penalty for losing a challenge. If you are wondering what type of challenge they were fighting, it's a fighting challenge… if you remember Hikari wiping off the blood from her mouth. The reason of why he is mean is in this chapter.**

**I don't own Special A.**

Chapter 3: Can you ever forgive me?

Kei was anxious and ready to get this meeting over with or without their consent. He wanted to get out of this as soon as possible so that he could meet up with Hikari to talk. They have been inside his father's office after his father called both his sons to come in to discuss the matter with him and the Taishou grandmother. The young Taishou grandchild was being accompanied by one of the soldiers outside the office because they were going to be assigning soldiers as their bodyguards. However, the grandmother isn't going to back down in this meeting because it involves her adopted grandchild.

"Takishima-san. Please, be reasonable. One person isn't going to protect you from everything. If you have three people with you, they could protect you and capture the assassin. These are some of the best officers through strength and skills, and they would benefit for your safety." The old woman pointed out their pictures and profiles to give out their specialties and talents. Kei crossed his arms and pointed to the other picture that had Hikari in it.

"I want Hikari Hanazono as my bodyguard. She will be enough to protect me, and her status is more experienced than those officers. It's wiser to not attract unwanted attention by only two people as a group." Satoru and Sui knew that this Takishima member isn't going to give up without a fight.

When Hikari was seen alive and well, Kei seemed to be more serious and focused like when he was in the Hakusenkan Academy. He was trying, or going, to get Hikari to be his bodyguard, and the heat between the two stubborn people was getting dangerously high. The two Takishimas glanced at the old woman. The grandmother seemed protective of her adopted grandchild and was trying to change officers for Kei's satisfaction.

"There will be a high chance that the enemy will target you, so Kimajime will deal with enemies like these. I will assign Kimajime Taishou as your bodyguard. He is far more experienced than Hikari, and his skills are more reliable for protection." The father and youngest son courageously glanced at Kei and immediately cringed. Kei's scary mad face was there, and it seems that his patience was wearing thin. They wondered if the grandmother was signing her will earlier than usual. The Takishima heir slammed his hand on the desk and shouted at the stubborn woman.

"Hikari_ will_ be my bodyguard! I will not accept anyone else than her, Taishou-san!" Sui hid behind his cowardly father and watched the whole thing going to unfold into disaster.

_This is not cool._ Sui thought as he stared at his older brother.

Kei was very determined and very violent through action and all, and somehow, the old woman was calmly watching this reaction from the Takishima heir. The youngest brother doesn't know what the old woman was trying to get at, but there was no way that Kei would be denied by his own choice. The Taishou grandmother stared at the young man in front of her who looked like he was ready to kill someone with his bare hands. She sighed and asked.

"Why do you ask for Hikari Hanazono to be your bodyguard? What is your reason?" Sui and Satoru were surprised by her question. They already knew that Kei wanted Hikari to be his bodyguard because he wanted her to be by his side, but they were surprised that the woman had the guts to ask about his reasons. They stared at Kei for an answer, and Kei seemed to not give a reasonable response.

"My reasons and concerns are not for you to pry on, Taishou-san." The two members were expecting the old woman to make another solution and stared at her for any comeback. The grandmother closed her eyes and questioned Kei.

"Is she that important to you?" Silence swallowed the tension in the air, not knowing whether to be scared or to be surprised. The grandmother walked to the sealed window and stared outside.

"What is she to you? A friend? A lover? A special person? Are you trying to resolve something between you and Hikari that happened a long time ago?" Kei didn't say anything and clutched his fists. There were times when he would make comebacks against the person who he is talking to, but the Taishou president was making this situation difficult for Kei to answer. The old woman turned her head to the side to look and glare at the young man.

"If that is your request, then so be it. Hikari Hanazono will be Kei Takishima's bodyguard, and Kimajime Taishou will be Sui Takishima's bodyguard. Nicky Windfield and Tony Hiboshi will be Satoru Takishima's bodyguards every twelve hour shift." She turned around and fully faced Kei with her wise and protective eyes.

"Be warned, Takishima-san. Any methods that you will try will hurt her more than the wounds she has endured through her missions and her past. I don't know what happened between you two, but her heart is already fragile when her family died in that fire. You have to face reality, Takishima-san. She may look strong but not strong enough to endure any attempts you make." She looked at Kei's father and bowed to him in respect.

"Arigato, Satoru-san. I will be leaving soon for a meeting in America, and I entrust my grandchildren's protection to you. If any of my grandchildren is giving you trouble, please don't hesitate to call." Satoru smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry, Taishou. It's nice to have you around and plan a proper selection with us. Have a safe trip." The grandmother stood up straight and walked out of the office, having the doors closed behind her. When she was out of hearing range, Sui ran up to Kei and asked him.

"Are you sure that you are going to be okay, Nii-chan?" Kei sighed, patting his brother's head with what's left of his strength.

"I don't know, Sui. After talking to Taishou-san, Hikari is in so much pain than I realized before. At first, I was happy to see her again. Now, I don't know what to do or how to get her back again without causing her more pain."

0000

Hikari held her sigh while walking next to her cousin for an exploration outside of the house. They were monitoring and testing out all of the cameras and sensors in the gardens, backyard, and entrance of the mansion. They were checking if all the men were working on the equipment for testing or if they were on patrol duty. They wore their normal uniforms, which are light green, buttoned battledresses, khakis, and leather boots, since they don't feel that anything bad is going to happen, but they had pistols attached to their belts just in case an intruder is entering the area.

"Hanazono-chusa." Immediately, she responded with a strong but tired voice.

"Hai!" Kimajime looked at her and back to the road ahead of them.

"Your posture is not appropriate for a leader. Stand up straight and walk without being distracted." Hikari stood up straight and felt embarrassed by showing her weakness.

"Hai! Gomen nasai, Taishou-taisa!" He narrowed his eyes and frowned deeply.

"A Taishou member must never apologize. You have lived with us for three years, and you must not have a soft heart. Got it?" She swallowed her dry and constricted throat and answered with artificial strength.

"Hai!" The colonel nodded and walked ahead of her, not looking back to see her sad eyes.

The Hanazono survivor wondered about the Taishou heir's change. When she was adopted into the family, he was the kindest and most peaceful guy she had ever met like her brother, Atsushi, was. He never got mad and became fast friends with the Hanazono girl, making her life easier to adapt into. It was probably because he looked like her brother and acted like him made her comfortable around the family. Hikari became best of friends with Kimajime, a daughter to Kenbo, and a sister and mother to Namaka. With their grandmother and his baby sister, she felt the happiness of a family once more. However, it didn't last when Kimajime was deployed for the war in Iraq.

When he came back, he wasn't the same friend that she used to know. He became cold toward her, and whenever she tried to get him to have fun, Kimajime never smiled and left her there by herself. The only thing that scared her was his angry look and the scar from the war he was deployed into. Their grandmother was called back into the army as Field Marshall, and she was almost never home. The only family member that she had close connections with was her baby cousin who lost her parents in a car accident after she was born. When Hikari comes home from any missions, Namaka would usually come out of the house and called out "Okaa-chan!" to the survivor. Her heart would swell with happiness and joy, and she would hug Namaka right at the entrance. Those were the good times for a little happiness, even though Namaka would call her "Hika-nee-san."

In the current time and day, she was tired of all this and feeling frustrated by the mess she got into, but as a lieutenant of the Colonel and cousin of Kimajime Taishou, she tried her best to set an example of a strong second-in-command. When she joined the army and trained with the Taishou family to protect her new family, Hikari was picked on by higher-ranking officers and harshly scolded by Kimajime. The next year, those officers were either discharged or killed during their missions by their carelessness. For the whole three years of enduring humiliation and pain, she had reached to the rank where she was under Kimajime Taishou's command. She smiled bitterly and looked at her ranking badge that was attached to her right shoulder. She was still in second place, and her expectations didn't reach or equaled to both Kei and Kimajime.

"Colonel Taishou! Lieutenant Colonel Hanazono!" A private from their platoon ran up to them and saluted. The two leaders saluted back, and they all put their arms aside.

"Speak, private." Kimajime commanded with an unemotional voice, and the soldier reported.

"Takishima has requested for both of your presence as guards for two of his sons. He wants Lieutenant Colonel Hanazono to guard Kei Takishima in his room and you to guard Sui Takishima in his study room." Hikari felt stiff when she heard about her assigned post. Why? Why does things always happen to her when she was in times of emotional crisis? Kimajime noticed her discomfort and took mental note to deal with her.

"He wants you there immediately, and two maids will lead you to their rooms." Kimajime nodded sternly.

"Understood. Return to your post."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted again and ran back to where he was assigned.

"Hanazono." Hikari looked at Kimajime who looked back at her. His eyes were unemotional and not shining, but it held some recognition for her.

"Go to your assigned duty. Report to me about your progress during your guard duty. Do not leave anything aside that would make you feel uncomfortable." With his statement, the Taishou member turned around and walked ahead, leaving Hikari alone. The Hanazono survivor stared at her cousin in surprise, wondering if he was doing his job or just being worried. She shrugged and walked toward the mansion to face her former rival.

0000

Staring at the phone in front of him, the young man didn't know whether to call his friends about Hikari's arrival or not. Kei was planning to tell his friends the news about Hikari's arrival, alive and well, and he could imagine that they would be shocked at first and later ecstatic to hear the news. He could imagine Hikari's shocked face when she would see all of her old friends running straight to her and hug her. Kei smiled a bit when he thought about his childhood friend, Akira Toudou. There was no way to stop the tempered woman from meeting her long-disappeared friend. With Tadashi Karino forced out from his office, she would surely charge through here and demand Kei to tell her where Hikari is.

_Knock_

_Knock_

"Takishima-sama. Hanazono-sama is here." A maid called out, and Kei turned his chair around. He was ready to see Hikari again and could feel blood rushing in his veins.

"Let her in." When the door opened under his command, the sight of Hikari standing in front of his room made his heart beat twice as fast. Her hair was tied into two low ponytails, and she wasn't wearing the uniform properly. She wore a white cotton tank top and light green khaki pants. Her jacket was tied around her waist to hide the belt and gun, but Kei didn't care at the moment if she was still wearing ordinary clothes or a military uniform armed with something. All he cared was that Hikari was here with him. The maid bowed to them and closed the door behind her, but he paid no attention and focused at Hikari, the person who he loved and abandoned.

"Hikari." He whispered as he walked closer to her. Hikari made no movement or reaction when he was close to her. He lifted his hand, trying to touch her face to see if this was real or a dream.

Kei wanted to know if she was afraid of him or… hated him. If she flinched or slapped his hand away, he would know that she was beyond help… just like what the grandmother said about her broken heart. He braced himself for any reaction that Hikari will make, and he knew that her painful reaction would hurt him. When his fingertips touched her cheek, Hikari blinked in response to his touch. His mind was relieved, and his palm fully cupped her face. Her face was slightly cold because of the cool wind that blew in the spring season, but she was still warm there. He chuckled happily and whispered her name again.

"Hikari." Without any hesitation, he engulfed his beloved into a tight hug. He knew it. The old Hikari that he knew was still there inside of the new Hikari, even though the Hanazono woman didn't do anything to return his hug. Her whole body was a little cold like before, but he didn't care about the moment. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent on her hair. Hikari's scent was the same like when Kei went with Hikari on a date. He could never forget the flowery scent despite the smell of her uniform.

"I missed you, Hikari. I missed you so much." He whispered again, and Hikari responded.

"I missed you, too." Kei moved a bit away from her but didn't let go. Hikari's dull eyes stared up to his brightened eyes, and Kei smiled, trying to make her smile with him. He knew Hikari couldn't resist his smiles that would bring up her own happiness.

"I thought I never got to see you again after three years, but here you are! Alive! I'm so happy that you survived!" Her ghost of a smile appeared on her face, and her eyes were still dull from emotion.

"I'm happy too." He felt that his heart dropped to his stomach, and his enthusiastic smile lessened a bit. Hearing those words that were forced to come out from her mouth made him worried about her. His guts told him that something must have happened during the past three years that doesn't include the death of her family.

"Hikari? Is everything all right? Do you need anything?" Hikari's smile faltered but forcefully widened, and she closed her eyes to hide her emotions.

"Of course everything is all right! I'm happy that you came back to Japan! I thought I never got to see you after your sudden arrival!" Kei noticed that those words were forced out from her mouth to hide something that was giving her pain. He changed the subject that would make her show her true self.

"Hey, Hikari. How about a challenge? If I win, we would go to Hawaii like old times, together." A flash of happiness appeared in her eyes, but it quickly vanished within a second.

"Ah… it's a great idea, but I can't take the challenge. I have to make sure that you and your family are safe. Until then, I can't take any challenges." He frowned. The old Hikari would never decline a challenge, and he just saw the happiness in her before the sadness took over. Something must have happened to her. He tried another tactic that would make Hikari happy.

"Well… how about meeting up with our friends? I'm sure that Akira, Tadashi, and all of our friends would be delighted to see you again." Kei saw that Hikari bit her lip before she shook her head.

"Gomen nasai. You and I are not allowed to meet up with anyone until the dangerous criminal is captured. Also, I'm busy after this threat is over." There it was again! Her lies just kept on going. Hikari would always do something like this if she hid something from him. Kei would always know what was Hikari doing and who was she working or planning with. However, Kei could no longer figure out what was Hikari hiding because they haven't seen each other for three years, and the pain that Hikari was suffering was hidden away inside herself. He was frustrated and held her shoulders to look at her, eye to eye.

"Hikari. Don't lie to yourself to say those things." Hikari's smile turned into a frown, and her eyes seemed alert and wary toward Kei.

"What are you talking about? I'm not lying, Takishima-sama." Something wasn't right. She wouldn't call him formally when it comes to doing a part-time job, but she was addressing him like he was her boss… or a boss who every employee should take precaution. Hikari would never glare at him with alert and danger. She was his special friend, right?

"Listen to yourself. You are forcing yourself to say those words. What happened during these past three years? Why are you saying that you don't want to have fun when you really want to?" Hikari didn't say anything and looked away, turning her head to the right to avoid eye contact. Kei noticed that her hair was hiding something on her forehead and tried to move her hair.

"What's that on your forehead, Hikari?" When he touched her skin, he was suddenly, and painfully, pushed away by the woman.

"Don't!" The Hanazono survivor shouted with emotions that surprised Kei. He couldn't see what her hair was covering, but he could see the pain and fear in her eyes. It was then the Takishima heir realized that he caused her pain and fear in this human being. He had forgotten the warning that Taishou gave him, and now he was paying the price for hurting Hikari: to lose her ability to trust in him.

"Listen, Takishima-sama. I'm glad that you are concerned about me, but I am really fine! I've changed like everyone else did." He knew that she was lying. He asked with anger in his words.

"For better, or for worse?" Hikari didn't say anything and just looked down to the ground. Kei felt stupid for throwing his anger toward Hikari, who just came back to Japan only to feel uncomfortable in his own room. Kei sighed and walked back, sitting on his bed and holding his head with regret. He never felt so guilty for putting Hikari into messes that she would never wanted. He looked up and saw that Hikari was still putting her head down.

"Hikari." She didn't respond, and Kei pleaded.

"Hikari, please look up and look at me." This time, she did but only to meet his eyes with regret. He breathed out and looked down.

"Hikari, please forgive me." When she didn't respond, he continued.

"I have really messed things up a lot. Abandoning S.A., threatening you to not find me, not being there to help you after your family's death, and now making you uncomfortable when we just met after three years. I didn't mean for causing you sadness, and now I am doing the same thing like I did when I left the S.A." He sat up straight to see Hikari's surprised and confused expression and bowed his head to her.

"Can I asked Hikari Hanazono for forgiveness? If you like, we could start all over again from the beginning." He didn't know how long he was bowing, but when he heard Hikari's footsteps coming closer, his heart was pounding harder as ever. He could hear her kneel down and her breathing close to his head.

"Takishima, put your head up." He obeyed and looked into her eyes. Her eyes didn't hold that emotionless expression anymore but the comfort and security. Hikari smiled that was once shown a lot when she was with her friends and answered his question.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. Things happen that we cannot control in our lives. Your transfer to another high school was something you cannot control because there were reasons behind it to save the S.A. and your future." She looked away to her left side and smiled bitterly.

"The death of my family and my disappearance was unexpected, and I did make everyone worry. However, I couldn't stop the event in time, and my new family has strange rules that I have to follow. If you were still here in Japan, it's still going to happen anyways, and nothing would have change for the best." Hikari looked at Takishima and continued to smile.

"The part about making me feel uncomfortable was my fault. I was making this situation uncomfortable for the both of us because I was too accustomed to the rules in my new family. So… no hard feelings?" Kei smiled slightly in relief and nodded, feeling the heavy weight on his shoulders being lifted off. He wanted to lay his head against Hikari's shoulder but decided against it since she was still uncomfortable about all this. Their moment was disturbed by the knocks on his door and a child's voice behind it.

"Hika-nee-san!! I'm hungry!!" Hikari sighed and walked toward the door. She opened it to see that her baby cousin was there with a bunny doll that looked like Yappi.

"Namaka-chan. It's not lunchtime yet." She scolded as she picked up the fussy child into her arms. Kei took the opportunity to look at this child. When he met the young child with black, long hair and big, black eyes, his heart instantly melted. The young girl looked like Hikari with many distinguished facial figures, and she was almost like Hikari except that she wasn't Hikari's child.

"I know, but I want to try Hika-nee-san's sandwich! I really like to eat your cooking!" Hikari giggled and cradled the girl in her arms.

"And why is that?" The girl gave out a bright smile.

"Because you make the food out of love!" Kei's heart was filled with joy to see Hikari acting motherly to the little girl. He could imagine Hikari as a motherly type figure and the little girl, a daughter. If he could see himself as a father for the little girl and a husband to Hikari, then everything would be perfect. Hikari's laugh ringed in his ears as she placed Namaka down.

"Now, Namaka-chan. Why don't you go play with Sui?" The girl puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms.

"No! Onii-chan and Takishima are boring, and they say that they are too busy to play with me! I'm hungry, and I want Nee-san to make it for me!" Hikari smiled and nodded, as Kei remembered how they were in elementary school. He could still remember that Hikari would call him "Takishima" because they were rivals, and this little girl called his younger brother, "Takishima," instead of Sui or any other names.

"Hai, hai. Then, let's go to the kitchen." The little girl cheered and danced with her stuffed toy, singing out "Lunchtime!" over and over again. Hikari sighed a bit and turned around to ask Kei.

"Could you please help me find the kitchen? I sort of got lost in here when we arrived." Kei smiled gently and nodded.

"Hai. Follow me." With Kei behind the little girl, who took up the position as the leader, they were walking down the hall to find the kitchen.

"Oh, Takishima." He heard Hikari whispered behind him and looked to his side to see Hikari looked back in anger.

"I do not want to start all over for the both of us. Call it stupid or something else, but I really want to keep it as a memory for both our experiences and life lessons. Maybe, we could learn something from our past." Kei blinked and seemed to smile a bit. It's probably for the best for both of them to really learn something out of this.

0000

Kimajime Taishou felt something bad was going to happen, but it was very small and unimportant. He was watching the youngest son from the corner of the room, and he was looking out for anything out of the ordinary. While he was watching, something nagging in his mind was telling him that something would happen to Hikari. He knew that this feeling would not happen until his instinct tells him that certain day was close. Kimajime also knew that his instincts would not fail him and is always right. He knew about the deaths of his and Namaka's parents and the assassination of his grandfather, and he has used his instincts to help him complete missions around the globe. He thought in his head, closing his eyes to know what is going on.

_As a member of the Taishou family, I must trust this feeling. Unlike any other family, the Taishou family has the "animal" instinct to sense what is going to happen. Something will happen to Hikari… just not now. It's still too early to know._

**So… give me criticisms!! Oh, and don't expect this story to be updated for a while.**


	4. Do you remember?

**Me: Well… that went well.**

**CTE: I thought I'd never get out of that exam test.**

**SAN: Come on. At least we tried our best!**

**CTE: If you mean best, you mean that we all suck on one class.**

**Me: Sorry, SAN. I have to agree with CTE on this. I won't get out of college until I pass that one class that I sucked on.**

**CTE: We have to repeat the class on the next semester. Do you think that I'm happy about it?**

**SAN: (sigh) We don't own Special A., and they are having a bad time.**

Chapter 4: Do you remember?

The kitchen was clean and larger than she thought it would be, and there were more utensils from top shelves down to the lower shelves. There was a closet in the corner, and she was sure that it might lead to a larger room. When she was in a kitchen, Hikari was confident that things would not blow up on her. Then, why is she nervous now? Hikari wasn't supposed to be nervous when she was in the kitchen. It's probably because Kei's standing right behind her.

"Konichiwa, Takishima-sama, Hanazono-sama. Is there anything you need?" A maid bowed down to them with respect.

"Hai. Hikari Hanazono asked to use the kitchen to prepare food. Please attend to Hikari's needs to prepare lunch for us." Hikari could have calmed down until he said the word "us" out loud. Hikari turned her head to face Kei's smiling face, panicking in surprise and stuttering.

"N-Nani?! Y-Y-You're hungry, too?" Kei flashed a smile that pissed her off so much and also made her more nervous.

"Hai. It _is_ lunchtime, and like anybody else, I do have an appetite for something. When Namaka-chan said 'sandwich', my stomach growled." Hikari doesn't know whether that Kei was being sarcastic or being serious through that happy face.

"Ano… hai. So… what do you want?" Kei seemed to ponder about his recommendation and smiled.

"I'll have whatever you make for Namaka-chan. I'm sure that you make the best food from what Namaka-chan said. What are the ingredients again? Of course. _Lo-_." He was cut off when Hikari pushed Kei gently out the door to the table and yelled with a flushed face.

"Okay! I'll make the sandwiches! You can wait with Namaka-chan in the dining room! I'll come back with the sandwiches!" When Kei was far away from the kitchen, she rushed back into the kitchen and slammed the door closed. Her face was red from embarrassment and panic. Hikari hoped that this experience doesn't involve food exploding in front of her face.

Hikari was aware of things exploding and the food going wrong, but that was in the past. When she was adopted into the Taishou family, she was taught to have the basic survival skills and later the other skills in the family. Those teachers who she was studying under didn't have a conflict or complaint about her studies, but when her culinary instructor was teaching her how to cook, things went bad. The instructor left, saying that Hikari has no talent whatsoever.

…too bad that the he was punched in the face by her older cousin when he was still being the calm guy. Therefore, her own grandmother had to teach her and let her learn the basics first and the handling of food. For two years, under her grandmother and cousin's supervision, she was able to make a decent meal. With her cooking class done, she was able to make lunches without wasting ingredients.

"I just hope I don't waste them and make a disgusting dish."

"Hanazono-sama? Is everything all right?" Hikari looked at the maid who tilted her head in confusion, and the Hanazono survivor laughed it off.

"Ahahahaha… hai. I'm fine. I'm just talking to myself." The bodyguard walked to the maid and asked.

"Ano… do you know where you keep the bread?"

0000

Kei leaned his face against his knuckles as he watched the little girl swinging her legs back and forth. The table had three seats for three people, and the tableware was already set up for lunch. Since the dining table was large, there was no reason for the little girl to sit on the end by herself. Therefore, he was sitting beside her right side to be close with the little girl, observing the similarities between this girl and Hikari. Her little patient eyes looked up to meet his eyes, making him feel more joy than ever.

"Nan deska, Takishima-dono?" Her high-pitched voice sounded so much like Hikari's when they were both young. He could still remember how much determination Hikari would go to reach for proving that she is the number one person. He could remember how she would chase him down to catch up to him through everything. He smiled, answering the young girl's question.

"It's nothing. You just so much like Hikari when she was young." The girl tilted her head.

"Ah… okay." She looked up to the ceiling and back to Kei with curious eyes. Not too long, she asked him a question.

"Why are you happy, Takishima-dono?" Kei was smiled more, feeling happier when she asked about his happiness.

"I'm happy because I feel happy." She had frown on her cute face, not understanding this man.

"You're not scared?" Her question sort of ruined the moment between them, but Kei shook his head.

"Iie. There is no reason to be scared." Namaka looked at him like he was strange… probably she was.

"You're strange. Most of obaa-chan's clients are scared to death when a strange letter comes to them." She fiddled with her napkin and continued.

"When we are in charge to protect our clients, they become nervous and aware for anything to happen. Onii-chan and Hika-nee-san's group would walk beside them without panicking." She looked up to see Kei paying attention to her and back to the napkin that she was playing. Kei took a peak interest to what she was saying, wondering what was going on with Kimajime.

"Could you tell me about your onii-chan?" Her curious eyes turned into sadness, and she played with her napkin a bit slower.

"Gomen nasai, Takishima-dono. I don't know much about onii-chan other than he trains people, mostly Hikari, and does his work. He's mean and doesn't play with me, so that's all I know." He frowned. Guess he has to learn about this man by himself.

"I see. Tell me about one of Hikari's missions." Namaka stopped playing with her napkins and looked up straight at his eyes. She smiled so brightly and nodded.

"Hai! Okay. There was one mission that it was almost equal to impossible, or what Hika-nee-san said." She squirmed in excitement and held her cheeks like she was dreaming.

"This story is my favorite because Hika-nee-san became a hero there. It was one of those that Hika-nee-san and onii-chan had to protect a person who is very, very important. One day, the bad guy show up at the day to get the person, and Hika-nee-san-"

"Lunch is ready!" Hikari's voice sounded off as she carried a tray full of sandwiches, cutting Namaka's story and placing them on the table. Namaka stopped her story and squealed in glee, looking at all of the sandwiches. He counted quickly and thought that there were sixteen sandwiches altogether. It was every child's favorite sandwich, peanut butter and jelly, and the girl couldn't help herself but grab one. Hikari's hand slapped her small hand, making Namaka whine and pout.

"Nee-san! I'm hungry!" Hikari scolded her lightly, reminding her manners.

"Namaka-chan, remember what I told you about before food is served?" The little girl blushed and laughed sheepishly.

"I forgot. Gomen nasai, Hika-nee-san." She clapped her hands together and called out.

"Itadakimasu!" Hikari smiled and patted her girl on the head.

"Good girl." Kei smiled as he was witnessing Hikari's role as a mother. His stomach growled, and the girls look at him in surprise.

"Well, then…" Kei did the same as he clapped his hands together.

"Itadakimasu." When he said that out loud, the Takishima heir took one of the sandwiches. Examining them, he smiled and took a bite out of it. The sweetness and bitterness was perfect for his taste buds, making him savor the flavor out of Hikari's hands. It was so much better than what the chefs make for him.

"It's delicious." He stated as he took another bite out the homemade sandwich. He looked up Hikari's surprised face, finishing the sandwich and taking another one from the tray. Her surprised face turned into a happy one, the one face that makes him feel better when she was relieved and feeling accomplished. Namaka made a face that showed that she was somewhat annoyed and asked.

"Are you a kid or something?" The mood was ruined when the child's question sounded like annoyance, and Hikari yelled at Namaka's attitude.

"Namaka! That's not nice!" The young child looked up and protested.

"Why?! He's eating kid's food! The kids back in America said that all sandwiches are supposed to be for kids! Aren't adults supposed to eat adult food since they are old?!" Takishima held back his chuckle, trying to not be rude at the girl's naivety. It was funny to see that a child like her could believe something that isn't true. Hikari sighed and shook her head.

"All foods are for everyone to eat. Those kids, who said that sandwiches are only for kids, are wrong. I eat sandwiches because I'm hungry and I have to eat in between lunch and work. Takishima eats sandwiches because he's hungry. Do you understand?" Namaka frowned and nodded, feeling guilty for making her upset.

"Hai." Hikari sighed and patted her head.

"Now apologize to Takishima." Namaka looked up to see Kei and bowed to him.

"Gomen nasai, Takishima-dono." Kei waved it off, stating that it was all right.

"It's okay. Nothing personal." Namaka sighed in relief and went back to eating. Kei smiled and continued eating. Hikari seemed to take on the motherly role for this little Taishou, and the youngest Taishou obeyed the mother who took care of her. Hikari took a seat across him and took a sandwich from the plate.

"So… how are you doing after all these years?" She asked as she took a bite out of the homemade sandwich. Kei had one of his eyebrow raised and stared at Hikari, just to play with her. She seemed to irk at his attitude and glare at him.

"You can just tell me. As long Taishou-taisa isn't here, I can talk normally." Kei chuckled and nodded.

"I see. Well then. I'm doing well. In fact, because you are here, I feel better than ever." He saw a light blush from the Hanazono woman, and she looked away.

"I-I see. So, did you graduate in London?" Kei shook his head.

"Iie. I graduated at Hakusenkan Academy with everyone else." He heard choking sounds and immediately saw Hikari coughing and hitting her chest to get the food down from her throat. He was worried and wondered if telling her about him graduating in Hakusenkan Academy was the best idea.

"A-Are you okay?" Without a warning, Hikari looked up in surprise and asked loudly.

"Really?! You came back from London?! That's great!" She was smiling and asked many questions.

"When did you come back to Japan? How's Akira and Tadashi? What about the Yamamoto twins and Ryuu? What about Yahiro and Sakura? Did they graduate with you-" Kei held his hand up to stop Hikari's questions. He was able to memorize every word she said, but Hikari was asking too much that she might have a hard time to remember everything she asked.

"Hai. I graduate at Hakusenkan Academy three years ago. I transferred myself from London to Japan to graduate with everyone else. However, you weren't there, so we were one member short." Hikari nodded and looked to the side with misty eyes.

"Hai. I wasn't able to come back to Hakusenkan Academy or told anyone where I am because of my recent adoption to the Taishou family." Kei frowned a bit. The Taishou family must have strict rules if Hikari was this melancholy. He continued on, trying to cheer up the woman across him.

"Akira and Tadashi are still going out. In fact, I heard that Tadashi is planning to ask her hand in marriage." On queue, Hikari fell off her chair and shouted from her fallen state.

"Nani?! Tadashi is going to ask Akira to marry him?!" Immediately, she grabbed the table and lifted herself up, grabbing the chair with her. Hikari's smile was wider than ever, meaning that she was happy to hear it.

"That's awesome! I have to congratulate them after this mission is done!" Hikari sat on the chair once again and asked more.

"How about the others, especially Yahiro and Sakura?" Kei smiled and answered them.

"Ryuu is quite busy when he graduated, but I heard that he is becoming duke of another country when he is marrying to a princess." That earned him a "Sugoi" from both Hikari and Namaka, and he continued on.

"Megumi and Yahiro are dating," he winced when he heard Hikari screeching a "Nani?! Megumi and Yahiro are dating?! When did this happen?!" and Namaka asking Hikari "Why are you yelling, Hika-nee-san?" and continued, "and so are Jun and Sakura, only they are married." He could hear Hikari becoming silent and counted in his head for another outburst.

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

"EHHHHHHHH?!! JUN AND SAKURA ARE ALREADY MARRIED?!!!" Namaka covered her ears from her cousin's shouting, and Kei nodded.

"They were married two months ago, and Sakura really wanted to give you the wedding invitation when they were getting married. It's a shame that you weren't around." Hikari sighed in content and smiled.

"Well then… I have to give them my apologies and congratulations to their marriage when I see them. I would also have to ask Sakura for a pro-wrestling match to make up for my disappearance." He shrugged and let Hikari plan things out. Kei took another bite out of the sandwich and asked the Hanazono woman.

"How were you able to cook this good? I would imagine it would take you years to cook rice before you can actually make other dishes." Hikari stopped her planning, pouting and glaring playfully at him.

"Don't make fun of my cooking, and about cooking rice, it only took me an hour to actually make an onigiri." Kei's eyes widened when he heard about this to hear Hikari, who was bad at cooking and blew up the pots and kitchens when she was cooking years ago, can cook rice for one hour. He smiled, hearing that Hikari was improving… somewhat.

"It seems that you have been improving. Could you tell me about your cooking?" Hikari smiled sheepishly and rubbed her neck.

"Well… obaa-chan was the one who was teaching me how to cook after my other instructor gave up on me because he said that I have no talent." She didn't notice Kei muttering, "When I find who is this instructor you are talking about, I'm making sure that he doesn't teach again."

"She told me how to gather the necessary ingredients and utensils, washing the ingredients properly, set the approximate temperature right for cooking, and handle utensils properly. Obaa-chan told me that cooking is like handling a baby, so everything must be handled with gentleness not force. It took me two years to prepare a decent onigiri before learning other stuff." Hikari swallowed the late bite of her sandwich and later chuckled a bit.

"It's kind of funny. When I was still an S.A. member, I would usually blow something up because I set the temperature too high, chop or grind food with too much force, or put too much ingredients in a pot. My food would usually taste gross and have a nasty aroma, so okaa-san would make food for me to eat." When she mentioned about her mother, her voice quieted down, revealing herself that she was still taking their deaths hard. The Takishima heir felt that she was putting herself down like everything was her fault, and the mention of her mother made it seem that everything in the past was her fault. Kei shook his head and told her.

"Hikari," the mention of her name made her look at Kei, "your food isn't bad. You made it with your own skills and your best. You also made it for everyone to enjoy and with love and happiness. Your cooking is superb, and if no one understood how much effort you put in, then they are the ones who have no effort." Kei saw Hikari becoming surprised and later happy with the dreamy look and gentle smile.

"Arigatou, Takishima." When he was seeing her face and hearing her gentle voice, he couldn't help but blush madly. She sounded like a proud wife and a gentle woman despite that she was gone for a long time. No matter what, Kei could feel himself falling more in love with the Hanazono survivor. A certain young Taishou member raised her hand up, wanting attention. Hikari and Kei looked at the young child, and Namaka spoke.

"Sumimasen! May I have something to drink?" Kei heard a slapping sound and turned to the woman. Hikari slapped her forehead and smiled sheepishly, forgetting something important.

"Gomen nasai, Namaka-chan. I forgot your 'Fruity Juice.' I'll be right back." Hikari ran back to the kitchen door to prepare the drink. Before she closed the door, her head poked out and asked her friend.

"Takishima! Do you want one as well?" Kei, not wanting to pass up the Fruity Juice dish, smiled and nodded, feeling happier than he was before. Hikari smiled and disappeared into the kitchen area. He heard the child's voice beside him, saying "Ano… Takishima-dono? Why are you sparkly?", but Kei was in his own sanctuary. His sanctuary was only disturbed when they heard a door open behind them, and they all turned around to see the youngest Takishima family member and the Taishou family member.

"Takishima!" Namaka growled and glared at the young boy with flaring eyes. Sui brushed off the look and walked to the table, joining them for lunch.

"Konichiwa, Onii-chan!" The boy beamed at his older brother, still admiring him. Kei nodded sternly and continued eating the delicious food. Even though the sandwiches were great, the atmosphere was not in his favor. He observed Kimajime and glared at him who closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and not feeling the heated glare from the Takishima heir. The leader had a serious personality that was choking for everyone to not speak a word. He was in uniform, but he removed his jacket around his waist to hide his own gun, showing his muscular arms and chest from the tight black shirt.

"Sandwiches? What the heck is it? Peanut butter and jelly? It's for kids." Sui commented as he was waving the sandwich in the air. Namaka was ticked off and pointed at the younger Takishima.

"Oy! Takishima! Be nice! Hika-nee-san made that for us, so be grateful!" Somehow, the silence became deadly, and Kei was hoping that Sui doesn't say anything…

"Hikari made this?! Is this poisoned or something?" That did it. Namaka slammed her little hands on the table, standing up and yelling at his younger brother.

"She's not that stupid to do something like that, Takishima no baka!" Sui stood up from his seat and yelled back.

"Who are you calling a baka, gaki?! We are your clients, so you behave!" She gnashed her teeth and yelled back.

"You behave! You're being rude right now, and have some respect to those who are older!" Right now those two were bickering across the table, and Kei was feeling the headache and getting angry at Sui's behavior. Immediately, he smacked his brother on the head as Sui held his head in pain.

"Na-?!" His brother looked at his brother, and Kei's irritation look glared at him intensely.

"You are acting like a spoiled brat. Apologize." Sui bit his own lip, feeling like Kei was taking on the little girl's side. However, he saw Kei smacking Namaka on the head the same way, and Namaka cried out.

"What did I do?!" She yelled as she held her head. Eyes stung in anger and frustration when she was about to cry. Kei gave her a stern glare and stated.

"You are also acting like a spoiled brat. You both apologize right now in front of this table and bow to each other." The two kids grumbled a bit, but they did what they were told. They both bowed and apologized.

"Gomen nasai." Kei nodded.

"Good. Now, sit down." They sat down and crossed their arms, looking away from each other with the look of "Boys are so mean" and "Girls are so stupid". Kei felt a headache coming up and looked at the Taishou member who was leaning against the wall. He took care of his little brother, but what about Namaka? Couldn't he do something about her attitude?

"Minna-san! The juices are done!" Hikari called out when she brought out three glasses of "Fruity Juice" on a tray. Namaka looked at Hikari with a surprised look and later had a happy smile. Kei sighed as he could feel the tension lifted up. Hikari placed the red-orange glass to Kei first and later the small glass to Namaka later. She noticed Sui on her chair as the Hanazono woman placed a small glass on the table.

"Sui? What are you doing here? Are you hungry?" Sui wanted to scowl at Hikari, but when he remembered that Hikari lost everything and just came back. Ignoring her, he slapped his hands together and muttered.

"Itadakimasu." Sui sighed and grabbed a sandwich, regretting that he would think of such a thing to harbor a grudge to the returning Hanazono. He looked at it for a bit, sniffed at it for anything weird, and examined it just to see if anything was wrong with the food. Somewhat satisfied that nothing's wrong, he took a bite, and his eyes widened. It tasted so good, better than the ones he ate made by the chefs. He gobbled down the sandwich and grabbed another one.

"By judging with your stuffed face, the sandwich is good, right?" The young Takishima glared at his older brother and swallowed the last piece of his fourth sandwich. He grabbed the glass in front of him and took a sip from the glass, only to chug the juice down when his taste buds felt the fizzing, fruity liquid. He gave out a sigh of satisfaction and smiled happily, ignoring Namaka's screech of "That was Hika-nee-san's drink!"

"Hikari! That was the best meal I ever had!" There was no answer from the Hanazono bodyguard, and everyone was worried.

"Hikari?" Sui asked when he looked behind him. There was no sign of Hikari or a strand of hair from her in the dining room, and Namaka started to panic.

"Did something happen to Hika-nee-san? Hika-nee-san! Where are you?"

"Sui," Kei called out his little brother.

"Hai?" Sui answered with a question.

"Was Taishou-san here when you walked in the room?" Sui pondered and nodded.

"I think so. I told him that I was hungry and walked here to get lunch. I think Taishou-san must have followed me since he is assigned to protect me." Kei cursed silently and eyed the kitchen door. Hikari must have left silently under Kimajime's order to follow him without everyone to notice. He felt that something was wrong. When Hikari was with Kimajime while everyone is around, then she might be in trouble.

0000

"What the hell were you thinking?" The older Taishou member growled at the Hanazono member. Since the maid was gone, under Kimajime's orders, she left the two alone, only to give the Hanazono woman a worried look when she saw Hikari's face. Hikari winced when she could hear the growl from him, and she couldn't look up to see his face. His face was scaring her, and he looked like a demon in her eyes. She didn't know what she did wrong, so she tried to explain.

"Onii-san, I-" Kimajime cut her off and lectured her.

"You know that it is dangerous to serve food from the kitchen if an enemy just put something in these food. What happens if you pasted in that was mixed with poison or something? What happens if you served bread that could kill our clients? Do you know how much trouble you would be in if one of our clients are killed? All we could know that someone is working undercover as a maid or butler without anyone to notice." Hikari felt anger surging through her veins and looked up at Kimajime's angry face, forgetting the fact that she was scared of him.

"Onii-sama! Everyone in here is not bad to do that! Everyone, even the servants and maids here, love the Takishima family that they wouldn't have the mind to go against them. If they notice something different about one of their workers, they would have reported to either us or Takishima." She explained to him, arguing that everyone here is kind and respectable. Kimajime scowled and walked closer to Hikari.

"I'm not taking chances." Hikari, feeling the fear back in her, backed away from Kimajime. She felt her back hitting the wall and tried to walk to the other way, but she froze, feeling the vibration from the punch against the wall and hearing the sound of his fist colliding against stone. Her eyes looked into Kimajime's eyes, and her eyes reflected fear when she could see his calm, yet angered face.

"Don't take this mission as a vacation, Hanazono-chusa. You must know that everyone, including your friends, cannot be trusted. Times have changed, and we are dealing with people who we do not know." Hikari whispered quietly, not breaking her sight with his.

"Demo… Takishima can be trusted." Kimajime narrowed his eyes and whispered in her ear.

"Do you still trust Takishima-san? Even after he left you." She swallowed the dryness from her throat and nodded.

"Hai, Taishou-taisa." Kimajime stared at her, staring into her eyes like he was searching for something. He closed his eyes and pulled back, away from Hikari and removing his fist beside her head.

"All right. I'll trust you in this because you have connections with the Takishima heir. However, you must remember that this is a mission. You should not relax." He turned around and walked away, leaving Hikari shaking against the wall.

Hikari felt relieved and scared at the same time when Kimajime was close to lashing out. She didn't know how long she was enduring under his presence, but she would have applauded herself for not screaming out of fear if her legs and arms would quit shaking. When the Taishou heir was about to turn the knob, the door already opened to reveal the Takishima heir. Now, Hikari was holding her breath when she saw Kei and Kimajime facing each other. One was calm… cool calm, and the other was angered calm. If anyone could feel the tension of the two, then Hikari could feel the pressure in the room.

"Sumimasen, Takishima-san." Kimajime stepped away to let Kei passed. When Kei was into the kitchen, the commander entered the dining room to supervise the kids.

"Hikari, are you all right?" She heard Kei's concerned voice when he was close. She looked up to see him holding his hand out to her, and she realized that she was sitting down. Probably, her legs and arms gave out and made her land on her rear.

"H-Hai. Don't worry. Taishou-taisa was giving me advice on watching out anything strange in the house. He told me to look out for any maids or butlers who are doing something else beside their jobs." Hikari took his hand and was pulled up. However, she felt herself falling against Kei and his arms around her.

Her head rested on his chest as her hands held against his shoulders. Her right ear was listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat and his low calm breathing. She felt something inside her that made her relax and calm. She couldn't tell what it is, but Kei's arms around her made her feel protected from all the strain she was receiving.

"You're shaking." Hikari sighed, feeling that the mood was ruined, and shook her head.

"Let's go back." She tried to pull herself away from him, but his arms tightened around her, preventing her from moving.

"What did Taishou-san tell you?" The Hanazono woman groaned and lightly slammed her head against Kei's chest, earning an "Omph!" from the heir.

"Could we drop it, Takishima? I don't feel like talking about it." Hikari hope that her reason would be a good one because she really needed a break from dealing with her cousin. She could hear him sigh, knowing that this conversation is done.

"All right." The two stepped away from each other to have some space, but Kei held her hand, not letting go of her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she glared at her former rival. He just chuckled and pulled her with him, making her stumble a bit.

"Let's go back to the dining room, together. I doubt that Taishou-san would interfere." Hikari mentally imagined herself smacking her head against a brick wall. The pressure on her shoulders was going to be heavier than she thought.

0000

Sui looked at Namaka, who shuddered in front of him. It wasn't that the temperature had gone down twenty degrees, but seeing her shuddering made him feel weird and uncomfortable.

"Oy! Gaki, you cold or something?" She glared at him in anger and shook her head.

"Iie. I just felt something bad is going to happen. I don't know, but something is going to happen here in a week. I'm not sure what was going on." They heard someone walking, and they had their heads turn to the Taishou member, who had a grim face.

"Oy! Taishou-dono! Where are you going?" Kimajime stopped walking, but he didn't turned around.

"Namaka." She blinked and answered.

"Hai?"

"Do you know where this 'something' is going to happen?" Namaka pondered and guessed.

"Well… I think in Takishima Sui's room where the bed is and the room where obaa-chan, Takishima, his onii-chan, and his otou-san were talking. Why do you ask?" The Taishou member didn't say anymore and just walked out from the dining room. Namaka and Sui looked at each other and wondered what just happened.

**Well… something is going to happen in a few days, so make sure you come back in two weeks. The reason this is going to be in a two week hiatus is because I still have finals next week and going somewhere on the next, next week. I'll come back when I have time.**

**Terms:**

**Dono= Mister**

**Nan deska?= What is it?**

**Gaki= brat**


	5. Are you going to be all right?

**Me: Dammit!**

**SAN: What? What happened?**

**CTE: AF's trying to stay up late for three nights, but every night, she falls asleep without noticing.**

**AF: I'm trying to reach to my goal for this last month, and it's staying up three nights without any sleep.**

**SAN: You and your methods… We do not own Special A.**

Chapter 5: Are you going to be all right?

It has been four days, and all of the soldiers were working without stopping, scattering around like ants carrying necessities for their homes. Those, who worked in the morning to the evening, watched out for anything suspicious or prepared a plan to protect the place. Others, who worked in the night to the early morning, were checking the cameras and the windows to make sure that none of them are screwed up or malfunctioning. It confused some of the maids and the butlers at first, but Kimajime clarified to them that they were making security tighter than usual, giving them a sense of relief. However, the soldiers weren't sensing the relief when their Commander was giving them hasty orders. Their Commander, Kimajime, was more tense and serious than he was after they entered the Takishima mansion. Whatever was bothering him was making everyone nervous about this mission. Then, again, who wouldn't be nervous? Kimajime ordered everyone to carry pistols in case of an intruder and radios to contact with the engineering team for any malfunctioning or the combat team to take down the intruder.

Kimajime walked down the dark hallway with a tense aura around him and wasn't going to let his guard down, not even for a little bit. Since his baby sister told him about the events going to occur in both Sui's room and the father's office, he wasn't going to let this chance go. Before he left Sui in his room, he had four officers to guard the room and commanded them that no one would enter inside until he returned from a quick meeting. Two were guarding from the outside, and another two were watching over the kid from inside his room.

"Commander Taishou!" A private soldier ran up to him and saluted. The moon shined through the windows, making their silhouettes visible without showing the face. The Taishou heir nodded and stated.

"Report."

"Sir!" The private took out the chart from his arm and answered.

"All surveillance cameras have an 'A-OK' status, and all window barriers are tightened in every window. Everything is checked and set." Kimajime turned to the window, staring at the moon.

"Good. Dismissed. Return to your post."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and walked back to his original position to where he was assigned. Kimajime frowned and looked at the sky. It was probably midnight, and the chances of an intruder coming into the mansion were very high. It was always the criminals to choose their timing at night, striking in the darkness without anyone to notice. Well… those intruders have another thing coming since the Taishou family is around. He frowned less and closed his eyes. Stupid comrade of his… his foolish advice always got into his head when he was in stress.

"_Here's an advice, man. Intruders will try to break in through the daylight in different ways, but it's obvious that they will get in through night. The night is always the best timing for enemies because our eyes have a shorter range and are not used to see in the darkness."_

Kimajime quickly opened his eyes and shook his head, getting rid of those memories from his previous missions.

"Kuso." He muttered and continued walking, trying to forget that image and that voice of his comrade. Therefore, he thought of another thing to get rid of that memory. Hikari's smiling face flashed in his mind, and Kimajime growled.

That's right. Hikari was supposed to come over for the meeting, but it seems that she has forgotten that information that he sent her.

"Where the hell is Hanazono? She better not forget the meeting." He increased his pace as he angrily breathed out. Kimajime did not like how Hikari was forgetting the mission and taking this mission not seriously like she should be. An image of the Kei Takishima popped up into his mind and remembered how happy he was when Hikari was around. He growled, not caring if his subordinates were surprised or scared stiff. Kei Takishima better not mess up their mission.

0000

"Tired already, Number Two?" The Takishima heir teased his bodyguard beside him, and she glared at him, holding a young, sleeping girl in her arms.

"I told you not to call me that!" She hissed, being careful to not wake up the child. Hikari and Kei were already in Kei's room to let the Takishima heir rest from his work, and the both of them were tired from both work and watching over the Taishou child. In Kei's room, there were two beds next to each other: one was large that belonged to Kei and the other one was sort of small, probably for Namaka and Hikari to sleep in.

Since Hikari was going to watch over him, Kei quickly ordered the maids to prepare a bed for her to sleep. However, Hikari said that she was supposed to watch over him, but Kei said that sleep would rejuvenate her to continue her work. Namaka, feeling that Kei was going to take Hikari away from her, decided herself to sleep with Hikari in order to prevent Kei's plan from happening. Kei figured that Namaka held a grudge against him for getting too close with Hikari on the second day. That look on her face was the same as Sui when Hikari was in their house a few years ago. When was that? Oh yeah. When Kei hugged Hikari in gratitude to bring him tea during his work, Namaka entered his room and stared at them for a long time. Ever since that incident, Namaka was sticking with Hikari possessively, giving Kei a scowl and Hikari a happy smile.

Kei looked at the sleeping child. During his work and Namaka's visit, the young girl had a lot of energy and asked Hikari to play with her, and Hikari reluctantly agreed, hoping that Namaka doesn't do anything dangerous when she was very hyper. Kei was amused and had a few chuckles when Hikari was being reasonable and trying to keep up with the Taishou's energy. When Namaka and Hikari were playing tea party, the young Taishou volunteered to be the server for the Hanazono survivor. Not wanting to let Namaka touch the hot water, Hikari suggested that they should use water for tea. Namaka didn't know why, but she agreed to what the Hanazono survivor said, filling up the teapot with water. It was a few minutes for them to enjoy the "party," but the third time was a bit disastrous. Namaka was about to serve Hikari water, but the young girl's grasp slipped, letting the entire water splash on Hikari's tank top and khaki pants. Therefore, that ended their tea party.

"Namaka sure had a lot of energy." Hikari sighed as she placed down the child on the bed. She shook the young girl awake, and the girl groggily opened her eyes. The young girl yawned and looked up at her cousin.

"… nani?" She whined, feeling her sleep disturbed from being shaken up. Hikari smiled gently and asked in a motherly voice.

"Namaka-chan, would you please let me change you into your pajamas? It wouldn't feel good to sleep with your dress on." Namaka blinked and nodded, pointing to the small white suitcase where her clothes were packed.

"My pajamas are in there." She said in a sleepy voice. Hikari nodded and unlocked the lock, opening the suitcase that was filled with clothes and other necessities for her hygiene. Hikari found the small green pajamas that had many colored flower designs on them and picked up both the pants and buttoned shirt.

Kei watched his beloved in fascination and awe when she was showing the motherly side of her. Hikari knelt down to Namaka's height and untied the bow on her waist. Once that was untied, Hikari leaned over and unzipped the small zipper on her dress. Hikari commanded for Namaka to raise her arms high, so she could pull the dress up. Namaka did and had her dress off, leaving her with her cotton underwear that had a cute monkey face on her rear and her cotton tank top. Hikari held the pants and let Namaka slide her tiny legs through the holes. After the pants were done, Hikari placed the shirt on Namaka and slipped the buttons in.

"There, it's done. You can go back to sleep, Namaka-chan." She whispered softly as Namaka crawled onto the small bed, letting her tiny head plop on the soft pillow.

"Oyasumi, Namaka-chan." Hikari called out. Unconsciously, Namaka muttered out for Hikari and Kei to hear.

"Oyasumi nasai… okaa-chan." Kei was very surprised to hear those words out of the child's mouth. He wasn't sure what kind of bond was between Hikari and Namaka, but for some reason, it was more than just a "sister-sister" bond or a cousin relationship. He looked at Hikari and felt that surprise wash away into tranquility. Hikari's face was showing a motherly look that is filled with love for the child. Hikari's eyes were glassy, and her smile was genuine like she was relieved.

"Hikari…" His voice shattered that look, and Hikari looked up at him in surprise and later replaced by fear. Kei was now surprised to see Hikari's fearful look and became concerned. Hikari moved away from Namaka and put her hands up in defense.

"I…! It was just…! She didn't mean to…" Hikari stuttered, trying to find a reason for Namaka's unconscious response. Kei held his hand up, stopping her fretting. There must be a reason that Namaka called Hikari her mother, and it may have been related to Hikari's disappearance.

"It's okay, Hikari. She was just sleepy and just said it without being conscious. I understand. There's no need to panic about this." He heard Hikari sigh, and Kei wondered if that was a sigh of relief or a sigh of disappointment.

"That's good to hear." Kei shrugged, removing his business jacket to change into his pajamas. Before he removed the tie, Kei stopped and glance at Hikari who seemed to focus more on Namaka. Seeing this new side of Hikari, the Takishima heir wondered about Hikari's past. Thinking about her past, he can conclude that it was very painful, and Kei was determined to find out how he could ease that pain.

"Hikari?" She looked up to meet Kei's eyes, and he continued.

"I want to ask you about your life. What happened to you when… the incident occurred? How does the Taishou family treat you when you came into the family? What type of rules do they keep that you, the hard-working person, have to follow that you weren't able to contact Akira or the others about you surviving?" Hikari's eyes saddened, as she looked down to watch Namaka breathing softly. Kei mentally berated himself for causing Hikari's sadness again. This wasn't he wanted, and here he was, asking like a spoiled brat to someone who had been in pain for years. The Takishima heir quickly responded to prevent any more sadness.

"Gomen nasai, Hikari." He whispered.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'll wait until you're ready." Hearing her sigh, he looked at his bodyguard to see Hikari standing up.

"I guess I have to tell you the whole thing. You probably want to know what happened to me." She reached for the chair nearby and dragged it to sit on the cushion. Hikari stared at Kei for a while before looking away, blushing a bit.

"If you are planning to hear my talk while you are changing, I'm going to turn around and speak the opposite way." Kei blushed a bit and realized that Hikari was correct, as the survivor would tell her side of the story. His hair covered his eyes and nodded, letting Hikari to turn around. The bodyguard swung her leg over to lean forward against the wooden part of the furniture, staring at the moon and starting her story.

"I don't know where I could start, but I really don't want to talk about what happened during the incident." Kei frowned and asked.

"Naze?" Hikari was silent for a bit before speaking up.

"It was… traumatic." The Takishima heir keep his curiosity down to a minimum and let her continue on.

"Just tell me anything that you are comfortable with." Hikari nodded.

"Hai. After the incident, I woke up in the hospital, slightly burned and injured. The doctors told me that I would be fine, but they also broke the news to me." She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions from flooding her broken heart that was already repaired.

"I didn't know what to do, or I couldn't think at all since I have nothing left. I sort of shut myself from the world while I was still in the hospital. Three day later, two people visited me in the hospital, saying that they were sorry for what happened to me. I didn't say anything, so they introduced themselves to me. Obaa-chan said that she has signed all paperwork and taken responsibility of me as a relative of the Taishou family, a cousin. I didn't understand what she was talking about, and Kimajime, Onii-sama, said that I was adopted into the family. I didn't know whom those people are or have any relations to them, but they said that they knew Otou-san a long time ago before he..." Hikari stopped there, being silent about what happened about her beloved father. With much strength, she pressed on, skipping about the part when her father had died.

"When I was released from the hospital, I saw Obaa-chan with a black car behind her. I was about to greet her, but she told me to get into the car quickly. I was confused at first and listened to what she said, but I asked her about why we were in haste. She said that I was in danger and wanted me to gather whatever was left in my house and bring it back with me to America. I asked her if I could call my friends, but she said that I couldn't contact anyone because I would endanger them as well. I was scared for my friends that I have to listen to what Obaa-chan said. I really didn't want to involve my friends into this, so I took the hard decision of leaving everyone without saying farewell. When the car reached to my house, everything I tried to find was burnt up except a picture of aniki and me. I only took that picture with me as a reminder of my home." She turned her head around and looked at Namaka before turning her head back to the moon.

"The Taishou family are actually nice people, but they do have strict rules to follow. They call that their family code, and I was to follow that code. It's complicated, but I was accepted as the new member of the Taishou family, despite keeping my last name." Kei was finished changing into his sleepwear and sat on his bed. Kei was about to call out Hikari's name, but he refrained himself from calling, remembering that Hikari was still talking and trying to not breakdown. Therefore, he listened, painfully aware that he couldn't do anything about it.

"Onii-sama sort of reminded me of aniki, and he made me feel like I was at home again. He always calm about things and taking situations peacefully on his own way. Namaka sort of reminded me about myself when I was young. For a two-year-old toddler, she was eager to do things and wanting to accomplish things to the end. Those times… were special until it lasted." Hikari's shoulders shook when the problems began in her life.

"A couple of years ago, Onii-sama was sent to a war and came back completely changed. His calm and peaceful personality was completely gone and replaced with the strict and angry one. Obaa-chan was out of retirement and back to becoming a Field Marshal, and she said that she had to send me to train in the military and other facilities if she was to maintain the family name. I didn't like my first year in there, but I stayed there to give Obaa-chan my gratitude for keeping me alive. I just felt like my family was drifting apart, and the only person who I could keep connections with was Namaka. Even though Onii-sama won't give me a happy welcome and Obaa-chan would be away for months, Namaka was the only person who welcomed me back." Hikari stopped there, no longer wanting to speak anymore. The Takishima heir could feel that the Hanazono survivor has experienced enough pain than everyone could handle, and he could feel the dread of the pain she had experienced.

"Hikari." He whispered and stood up from his bed. Kei walked to Hikari, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"Takishima, please! Don't come near me." Kei froze on the spot, not sure whether that was the actual Hikari saying it or the soldier Hikari.

"Hikari. Let me help you. I want to help you and ease you from your pain. I want to give you happiness, so I could see you smile… to see you feel happy all the time." He tried again, but Hikari moved away from him, turning around to face him. The moon shined her silhouette, protecting her expression from Kei's concern. Kei couldn't see her, but he saw something on her forehead. It was still vague, and the moonlight didn't help Kei by shining behind her.

"Please, Takishima." She pleaded as she held her hand close to her chest.

"Just… don't come close to me. I don't want to cause you any more trouble, and I don't want you to get involved into my problems." Kei's shoulders slumped, feeling something heavy in his chest and body. He couldn't describe what it was, but it tasted very bitter in his mouth. That bitter taste also gave the Takishima heir the feeling of helplessness. Therefore, he could only ask one word.

"Naze?" Hikari was quiet when he asked that one word. Time ticked by, as the two adults stood in one spot: one in need of help but refusing it and the other offering help. Their quiet and tense atmosphere was shattered when knocking rapped on the door. Kei and Hikari looked at the door, wondering whom it is. Kei felt angry that someone was interrupting, and he was about to give him a piece of his mind until Hikari grabbed his arm.

"Wait." She said, and Kei wondered what was going on. When he saw her hand touching the pistol, the man knew that she was suspicious about this visitor coming at night and stepped aside. She slowly held the doorknob and lifted the gun up, preparing herself for anyone who would come out of the door. With a quick twist and pull, Hikari quickly pointed her gun… only to have her arm pulled up to face Kimajime's angry eyes.

"Where the hell were you, Hanazono-chusa?"

0000

Kimajime was very annoyed. He had gathered four soldiers with him to take over Hikari's post to protect Kei Takishima, and here she was, going to point the gun at his forehead instead of answering the door. The only matter was worse that Hikari was _residing_ in the same room as the Takishima heir. Just because they have to watch over the Takishima family doesn't mean that the Taishou family has to sleep in the same room with them. He didn't like it.

Not one bit.

"Hanazono-chusa, you were supposed to report to the meeting an hour ago, and everyone is present except for you. What the hell were you doing?" Kimajime commanded as his eyes pierced through hers, and Hikari began to tremble under his words.

"I-I had to get Namaka changed into her sleepwear to go to bed. I was busy taking care of Namaka that I seem to forget about the order to come over." The Taishou heir didn't say anything else, but he released her arm, leaving a mark on her arm.

"Put away your gun. You better go there and listen to what we are saying. Takishima-san will be protected by our soldiers until you come back." Hikari nodded and followed what he said, putting the pistol back in the pocket and tenderly rub her arm.

"Taishou-san." Kimajime's attention was on Kei who seemed displeased about something.

"May I have a word with you?" Both men had a very tense aura around them, and the soldiers behind Kimajime were feeling shivers up their spine, not liking what those two men are going to do. Kimajime glanced at Hikari, who was looking at the Takishima heir and back to him like something was going to happen.

"Hanazono-chusa. Go." He commanded, and Hikari stared at Kimajime. For a few seconds, she nodded and turned around, walking away from the group until she was away from hearing range. Kimajime locked his eyes to Kei, and both men were glaring at each other down to see which heir has the more dominant side in them.

"Nan deska, Takishima-san? I have a meeting to attend to, so make it quick." He said, challenging Kei to say something. Kei's glare intensified and growled out.

"I don't like the way how you are treating Hikari. You do not know how much pain she is in, and you treat her like she was nothing. You better change your ways before I will do something about it." Kimajime glared back, feeling threatened by this man who states that he will plan to do something about his own ways.

"I am capable of understanding how I work my squadron well, Takishima-san. Hanazono is a Taishou member, and once she is adopted into the Taishou family by Obaa-sama, Hanazono learns to withstand the harsh training and experiences. You do not and cannot break the code that was passed down from generations." Kimajime stepped back and saluted.

"Oyasumi, Takishima-san." He placed his arm down and turned around, walking away from the Takishima heir. Kimajime knew that his soldiers would be confused on how calm their "Commander" responded without taking his anger out on someone, but they didn't know that he wanted to lash out on Kei who seemed to have this mocking tone of voice. How dare he threatened a Taishou! Kimajime knew that this Kei person is attached to Hikari, but he should not threaten him on the process. Kimajime was so fuming that he didn't notice that he already reached the room where the meeting was held. The Taishou heir took a deep breath and opened the door, going to deal with another meeting on how to capture the assassin without having their clients involved.

"Taishou-taisa! Come! Sit down. We were just about to begin the plan." The major of the team called him in, preparing for the plans of capture and combat.

0000

Kei tossed and turned, feeling angry and frustrated over this one man who had Hikari under his command. For some reason, he couldn't sleep because of that man and the worry for Hikari has increased since she wasn't around. The soldiers were outside of the room, watching out for any thing suspicious, and they will be out there until Hikari comes back. He pulled his sheets over his body and tried to close his eyes. However, those feelings were still there, and the Takishima heir couldn't take it anymore. Throwing off the covers, Kei sat up and rubbed his forehead. That Taishou member was giving him a dreaded feeling that he was the one causing Hikari's pain, and Hikari could have been hurt both emotionally and physically. If that man were causing her pain, Kei would make sure that Kimajime would have wished that he was never born to this world.

"… Ta… kishima-dono? You all right?" Kei looked at the sleepy Namaka and forced a gentle smile to the child. He couldn't stay mad at her, not when he realized that Namaka was the only hope for Hikari to make it this far.

"Hai. Children are supposed to go to sleep. It's still night, so go to bed." Namaka yawned widely and nodded, still feeing drowsy.

"Hai." She crawled back into her covers and asked him.

"Hey, Takishima-dono? Do you want to hear what happened to Hikari that made her become a hero?" Kei, remembering about their discussion before Hikari came in with lunch a few days ago, nodded and asked.

"So what happened? What did Hikari do?" Namaka whispered the parts before she drifted off to sleep, but those whispers were words of death to his ears.

"_She put the bad guy down with one hit, and Hikari explained the mark on her belly was a sign of heroism."_

Those words were translated into something more horrible that children's ears shouldn't hear.

_Hikari was stabbed through the stomach, and she had to kill the criminal. Therefore, Hikari has hiding her pain from me, and the reason for me to not help her is because she killed a person._

**It seems that the trauma wasn't only from her family's deaths but also from killing human beings. What's new? Kimajime seems to be trying to protect Hikari, but he is actually hurting her instead. Takishima is now understanding that Hikari's pain is more serious than he thought it would be, so he better come up with a different plan in order to save Hikari's pain.**

**Give me feedback on whether this chapter is making sense or not.**


	6. Do I have to see another person die?

**Me: Urp… I don't feels so good.**

**SAN: Um… it's okay, AF! You made it through flying, so there's no worry about you dying there.**

**CTE: Even so, it would have been funny as hell to see her clinging onto the chair for her dear life.**

**ME: I hate you…**

**CTE: Special A cannot be own by us, so don't even dare think about accusing us.**

Chapter 6: Do I have to see another person die?

Cameras were already set up in the two rooms for anything weird around the area, and engineering squad was monitoring those cameras for any sign of movements or unusual activities. The first aid squad was preparing beds and medical aids with the maids and butlers in the lower floor of the mansion for any future casualties, and they also prepare barricades inside the room if any intruders are entering the lower floor. The combat squad was preparing themselves for action as they gathered their shotguns, ammo, and small necessities as their first aid kit. The plan was set already by the higher ranks, and they also were preparing themselves in the middle of the night. Not far from the Takishima residence, there was a mountain on the other side, and three of the leaders were preparing for anything from that particular place. One group was hiding behind the large boulders where there was a road on the other side, and the Hanazono survivor was leading that group. A day has passed, yet there was no sign of the intruder.

"This is Light," Hikari whispered through the speaker quietly as she took a peak from her hiding place.

"My group and I have arrived to our posts, but we see no sign of the enemy's entrance. Has anyone seen anything suspicious lately? Over." Her code name was given by the meaning of her original name, but talents or types of strengths gave other soldiers different names. The reason she was talking through given names was the need to keep their real names a secret when they are taking action on their mission. The leader of the whole group was Kimajime, known as "Alpha."

"Negative, Light. My team has not seen anything suspicious lately. Don't have your hopes up that the enemy won't appear on the night or be caught off guard. They will be prepared for our arrival since this is one of the most dangerous missions that we'll be facing." Kimajime's voice responded to her and her comrades. Everyone would know his voice, and he would answer and include a lecture. Nobody wanted to hear the lecture from him because… well… he was just plain scary and serious. Hikari mentally sighed and whispered back.

"Roger, Alpha." Hikari shifted herself to a more comfortable position, straightened her uniform, and set up her ammunition properly. Since the plan was formed, everyone had to leave immediately for his or her assigned mission. She was in the combat squad, and she had to pack up some of her things to leave immediately without saying goodbye to anyone. It's been like this on the other few missions: plan out in the meeting, pack up the stuff, and leave to that located area. Hikari couldn't say her goodbyes to her friends or anyone, and she was getting sick of it.

"_We'll start the meeting now." Michael stated as he pushed the map wider to reveal the area. All the leaders were gathered into a small soundproof room and seated around the table as the tactician was explaining the details of the area. The map had English words and areas drawn, and the two boxes were circled in red. Hikari, Nicky, Sean, and Tony were sitting on the chairs to see the map up close, and David and Kimajime were standing to have an eagle's view. _

"_My investigation team has explored the two rooms that Colonel Kimajime has mentioned. Satoru's office had nothing suspicious about it, but we may have to wait until the next day. My team is still searching for anything coming up, and we are still monitoring that room. Sui Takishima's room is located on the second floor, and the investigation team has not found a suspicious item in there. However, they are saying that through the window, there is a mountain located about two hundred miles away from the mansion. That window is facing the mountain, and there would be a possibility that the enemy would take action there." The redhead man questioned the possibility._

"_That's impossible! The enemy couldn't do something like this if he was a sniper. I don't think that a sniper would have a type of weapon that could shoot at a two hundred mile range." Kimajime frowned and retorted back._

"_It's possible, Lieutenant Sean. Have you heard about the Sniper Mark 500?" Hikari remembered that weapon through the news. _

"_Isn't that a prototype? I heard that a few companies are using a sniper weapon that could range up to five hundred miles. It was created from a weaponry company that wanted to make the Japanese military have an advantage to attack enemies from afar. However, that prototype was deemed as a failure when five out of six weapons could not hit the target properly. Therefore, that plan was abandoned." Everyone nodded, and Kimajime nodded._

"_You learn well, Hanazono. That plan of the Sniper Mark 500 was abandoned months ago, and it wasn't modified again. However, there are rumors about a certain group of terrorists bought that weapon without the company's knowledge." The brunette woman bit her lip and hoped that it wasn't who they are facing._

"_You don't mean… that we aren't dealing with an ordinary assassin?" Kimajime nodded and stood up._

"_We aren't. We are dealing with people who are more dangerous than an assassin, and they will be using every tactics to prevent us from protecting the Takishima family." The Taishou family member walked up to Michael, and the major stood aside for their leader to take over._

"_We don't know when the enemy will strike in Satoru's office, so we'll increase security there. There may be a probability that this assassin would be connected with other people, but we'll have to see. Major Michael will take command in the Takishima mansion, as I will lead my team to the mountain. Captain Nicky will lead her team to the first floor in case of any casualties around the area. While we are busy taking down the enemy and finding any cause in both rooms, Field Marshal Kenbo will contact the police in Japan to arrest the enemy once we disarm them." He turned his head to the laidback leaders who were feeling the dread from their Colonel._

"_Lieutenant Sean and Captain Tony, you will stay here and follow Major Michael's orders." Those two stood up and saluted. When Kimajime glanced at Hikari, she felt the dread in her stomach._

"_Hanazono and Lieutenant David, you two will come with me for combat. Pack your things for the mountains. We'll be leaving in an hour."_

_Takishima would be probably be pissed off and go straight here. _Hikari sighed as she adjusted her helmet. Before they left, Kimajime said that other soldiers would inform the two Takishima heirs and take over their posts while they are away. She hoped that Takishima would stay there and be protected, as the Hanazono survivor would be shooting her gun at the enemy. Hikari sighed as she loaded her ammo in her gun. If he was going to charge right up here, Hikari prayed that there wouldn't be a brawl between the two heirs in the middle of a battlefield. She was already dealing with a battle that she had to witness blood and guts spilling on the floor, and she doesn't want those two throwing themselves straight to each other's throats. Another voice entered the intercom, disturbing her peace in her mind.

"This is Caution. All cameras are set and hidden in their appropriate places. All we need is Wise's response." Hikari recognized that it was David, and the lieutenant needed Michael's word if it was good to go. There was probably that he and his team finished setting up the hidden cameras in each mile for the road. He and his team were also closer to the enemy's territory, approximately one-mile closer to the main point and away from her position. His voice was close to Kimajime's serious tone, but he held a side of him that contrast David's personality and Kimajime's. Hikari mentally sighed in relief that David was at least human to prove that he cared. If he were another Kimajime, then Hikari would make sure that she would be sleeping with one eye open. Kimajime answered.

"Yes. Return to your posts until further notice. Light, watch out for any suspicious vehicles."

"Roger." Hikari responded as she took another peek to see any oncoming vehicles.

Nope.

No sign of them yet, and dawn was approaching.

0000

The soldiers were stiff as boards as they walked beside the Takishima heir. They were ordered to take over their lieutenant colonel's post, while the colonel and his teams are away in the mountains. They also knew that their colonel has an evil, pressuring side in him that if any of the missions has failed, they, including the other soldiers, would have to face his wrath. However, after informing the man about the woman's questioning disappearance, they couldn't tell if he has the same evil, pressuring side in him like their colonel.

"Could you tell me where is Hikari Hanazono?" They shivered under the man's perfected English that held much malice and promise that pain would be delivered to their side if they don't answer. One gulped and dared to speak with courage, and the other applaud for his teammate's courage.

"I am sorry, Kei Takishima. I cannot release that information." They could feel that pressure was growing more malicious, as their client spoke with an evil tone.

"Oh? Why not?" The other cleared his throat and squeaked out the answer.

"Colonel's orders. That's all I can say." They felt a hand on their shoulders and almost screamed out. Kei pulled them close to him and whispered like death was near.

"Well, then. Tell your _colonel_ that if Hikari is harmed in any way, I would deal with him in a torture that he would not forget along with you and your teammates." Those two gulped and nodded, counting their limbs before their promised torture arrives. Kei released them and looked ahead.

Kei was beyond pissed, and he didn't like how Kimajime was dealing this threat situation. Worst of all, he didn't like how Hikari was facing danger head-on. Namaka told Kei that Hikari had to kill people to protect her and others, and she was dealing physical pain and trauma all by herself. Kimajime was dealing those things as a way of life, but Hikari was seeing this as a nightmare. Kei breathed out harshly as he thought of the possibilities of Hikari getting killed, injured kidnapped, or taken hostage. Kei knew that Hikari would put up a fight and get out of that situation, but he couldn't help himself being worried for her.

"I want to ask you a question about Hikari." The soldiers, curious about the relation between their Lieutenant Colonel and the Takishima heir, nodded and let Kei continue.

"Why is Hikari taking these kinds of missions beside doing this as a Taishou member? How did Hikari reach to a rank that she has to do more dangerous missions? Is there a reason why she is doing this?" The soldiers looked at each other and back ahead.

"I'm sorry, Takishima. We don't know." The soldier said but gave slight information about her reason.

"However, we do know that it has to do something about being stronger. Everyone in our squad knew that there must be a reason that she was working this hard to reach the highest rank to become stronger." Kei frowned. Hikari was strong and smart enough to take down an elephant and to surpass a genius with an IQ of 300. Then, why was she striving to reach the highest ranks to prove her strength? The other soldier nodded and continued the discussion.

"Yeah. She also said that to prove her strength, she has to beat the colonel through ranks and challenges. It was no wonder why Hazanono was challenging him most of the time when they were in training. I thought the colonel was trying to outdo Hanazono, but when I looked closer, it seems that the colonel was watching Hanazono trying her hardest to prove that she is stronger. Also, there are rumors that the colonel was watching her progress when he is around." Kei irked at the news about Hikari challenging Kimajime all the time like when she was still in high school with Kei. The rumor he was going to listen was going to make him sick, and he wanted to cover his ears. However, his curiosity got the better of him and listened to how deep the colonel's feelings are. The soldier's comrade gave him the look and explained it clearly.

"You sound like there is a connection between Hanazono and our colonel. Some of those rumors said that he was planning many ways to keep her from rising in rank. Others said that she reminded him back in the days when he was in boot camp." The soldier smirked and added another reason.

"However, there are a few rumors that the colonel has a crush on Hanazono when she was taking care of his little sister. That little kid ran into trouble in that one time, and Hanazono rushed right there like a mother bear. The colonel got there later to see the enemy unconscious and beaten up. That sparked the relationship." Kei's blood ran cold when he heard that Kimajime has feelings for Hikari. The comrade paled at the thought.

"Impossible, stupid. They're cousins. There's no way that he has feelings for her. Did you see how he was treating her? It's more like a leader-subordinate relationship." The soldier stared at his comrade in disbelief and shook his head.

"You're blind, man. The colonel hurts Hanazono because he is hiding his feelings from showing. Sometimes, you need to look closer to see things through." Kei decided to ignore any more words from those soldiers' mouth before he decides to throw up. The thought of those two being together was making him sick to the point of killing somebody, namely his temporary bodyguards. It was pathetic of him. He was supposed to be happy to hear that she was able to challenge people, but the news about her challenging the Taishou heir and imagining them being happy just made his jealousy rise to the next level.

"KEEEEIIII!!!" Kei immediately recognized that yell inside his father's office and ran ahead. Both the soldiers knew what was going on and ran forward, following the Takishima heir. They heard shouts from the maids, butlers, and soldiers inside the office, and Kei shouted.

"What happened? Daijoubou?"

"Kei! This is great!" Satoru jumped up and down in joy. Later, he pounced on his own son and hugged him.

"I have a new chair! It's called the Seat Caller!" Inside the open wooden box, there was a brand new black chair in the middle of the all the small foam pieces. The black chair had remote control devices on the armrests, and there was a machine under the seat that is operated by the remote. Kei growled as a killing aura surrounded him.

"Is that why you were calling me? Just to see your new chair?" Satoru felt his son's aura around the room and immediately backed away from him. Kei sighed and walked back, ignoring his father.

"I'm going back." Satoru stared at his son's retreating form and shrugged.

"Oh well…" He grinned and was ready to jump on his new chair.

"Time for me…" He crouched down.

"-to…" He took off.

"-sit dow-" He was caught by the arms and lifted away from the chair.

"Ah! Takishima-san! Could you hold on a minute?" Kei knew that it wasn't a voice he was familiar with, and he looked at the higher ranked soldier who the old lady offered him as a bodyguard. Michael, wearing a black tank top, waved him to come to his side in a lax manner, as two other soldiers, Sean and Tony, were holding his father by the arms. Kei glared at the soldiers, not in the mood to deal with them or his father.

"Nan deska? I'm busy, so it better be important." Michael smiled and nodded, walking closer to the Takishima heir. The major whispered.

"There's something I want you to do. It's Taishou-taisa's orders and Hanazono-chusa's wishes. Could you bring your otou-san to the lower floors and stay there until further instructions? Your ototou will be there as well, but he's taking a nap." Normally, he wouldn't care if Kimajime gave him orders, but if it was Hikari's wishes, then, the heir couldn't argue back. Kei glanced back to his father and to Michael with a suspicion.

"It's about the chair, right? You're sending me, my otou-san, and Sui down to the lower floors to check on the chair and to see whether the enemy will attack in Sui's room." Michael, not surprised about Kei's suspicions, answered with a carefree smile.

"Bin~go. Just don't go out until I tell you to, okay? Hanazono-chusa wouldn't want to see her long time friend die because of that." Michael went closer and whispered for Kei to hear.

"Hikari has already witnessed enough people getting killed, so she doesn't need to see her friends die too. You better bring Sui and Satoru downstairs." Kei's lips pursed into a thin line, and his eyes narrowed at the major. This guy either knew how to persuade people by using other people or just told him to not hurt Hikari. He sighed and whispered back.

"Just make sure that Hikari is safe, Major Michael, and I'll stay inside like you told me to." Michael grinned his pearly whites and patted the heir's shoulder.

"Deal. Now…" Michael snapped his fingers, and the two leaders released Kei's father, who sat down on the floor with a plop.

"You can take Takishima-sama, while we check on the chair." Kei smiled brightly, making his father tremble in fear.

"Oh… I wouldn't mind."

0000

"Enemy coming in. I spot four vehicles coming your way, Light. Be prepared, and be careful." Kimajime whispered, as the sight of lights flashed through by each turn. Hikari frowned and held her gun closer, squatting down to hide herself behind the bolder. She took a quick peak from her hiding spot and land her back against the rock, as the four vehicles passed by with men watching out from outside. Hikari frowned and thought back of her observation.

The four vehicles were just ordinary cars, but they were painted black. The drivers were wearing their bandanas covering their mouths and noses and had different colored hats, making their description difficult. Those terrorists just looked like an ordinary yakuza or gang members in America, but they look like they were from somewhere else by their eyes. Where did she see these people?

"Caution, could you ask HQ to make a close up on the videos? Tell me about their descriptions except eyes and clothing description." Hikari whispered a request. She held her gun closer and waited for anything from the engineering squad.

"Light, I have what you requested." David answered, "They only caught a glimpse of the sign, but they made a description from that short glimpse. They have some kind of sign that has a crest and a sword through it."

"SHOOT!" Hikari, including her team, jumped in surprise by Kimajime's loud cursing. They lowered the volume of their headsets and heard what their colonel said.

"Those are the terrorists from the last mission!" Everyone felt the world stopped, and Hikari shouted out.

"I thought those guys are dead! We cleared out their camp when they tried to kill our client!" Kimajime cursed again, clarifying what he was saying.

"I thought so, but it seems that these are remnants of the group. Team Caution, be on your guard and give us anything we need to know about their actions and connection to one of the dangerous criminals on the hit list. Team Light, follow them below and make sure they don't spot Caution or his team. If they take action, disarm them by shooting their guns. I'll be right there later on the road. I'm contacting Wise and Nurse about the situation. Be careful. They will be more wary of their surroundings than last time. Give me more reports about the enemy's action, and wait for my command." Hikari turned the volume a bit higher for anything coming up and signaled her team to follow her. Her squad nodded and held their guns close to their chest, readying to take off.

_Three, two, one…_

"Let's move." She whispered and dashed forward. The others followed behind her to the said direction. Hikari and her team rushed through the line of boulders and trees, hiding under the leaves and shadows of the trees. She looked up and kept an eye out of the terrorists. She frowned as they were already prepared for oncoming intruders. It was true from what Kimajime said, and they were more than ready to take down an army with little men. They had shotguns and machine guns on their hands, and their eyes scanned everywhere to see if any soldier was coming to their direction. Hikari didn't like that the odds were against them, and this mission got harder since they were looking up where David and his team were hiding and down where Hikari and her team were rushing.

Another person came out from the car, and Hikari had to squint her eyes to see a better view of him. This man wore blue jeans, brown shoes, and a white-buttoned shirt that is wrinkled. His brown hair was tied into a low ponytail, and his eyes were looking straight behind the sunglasses. He held a large gun on his shoulders, and Hikari could tell that it was the Sniper Mark 500.

"Targeted sighted, and he's holding the Sniper Mark 500." The man put down the gun onto the three-legged stand, and the shooting range was going straight to…

"Kuso! He's aiming straight at the Takishima mansion! Meaning…" Hikari realized what was going to happen in Sui's room and stopped, raising her gun to aim at the man's head. The whole plan was to attack at dawn before Sui would wake up. She couldn't let Sui get killed. He wouldn't wake up to see the new day, and it would be all her fault for not saving him.

_I must save Sui!_

"I gotta stop him before-" Kimajime shouted through the intercom.

"Hanazono-chusa! Wait for my command!" Hikari gnashed her teeth and protested.

"But he's-" Kimajime repeated.

"Wait for my command." Hikari's finger was on the trigger; ready to shoot the man's head off before he would blast Sui.

_I have to save him!_ Her finger was touching the piece of metal, saying that she must save Sui.

_**Do you want to disobey, Onii-sama? He knows more things than you do, and you still defy him? Do you not trust him? **_Her mind and reasoning was trying to prevent the Hanazono survivor from disobeying orders. However, her conscious was fighting back.

_You can't look away! Sui and Takishima are counting on you!_

_**Onii-sama has watched you train all this time. He expects you to be a Taishou member and know the rules.**_

She bit her lip…

_You have to save them! They are counting on you!_

_**Onii-sama is counting on you too. **_

…closed her eyes…

_You can't lose another person just because you are obeying orders. How can you look oji-san and Takishima in the eye when you failed to save Sui?!_

_**You also can't lose onii-sama and obaa-san's faith on you. Namaka-chan has looked up to you when she was young. You are the pillar of hope for her.**_

…put the gun down…

_You still love your friends! You still love oji-san as an otou-san! You still love Sui as an otoutou! You still love Takishima!_

… and looked away.

_NO! _

The shot was heard, echoing through the air, and Hikari felt something snapped in her.

"Now. Engage in battle." Kimajime whispered, as Hikari raised her gun at the sniper.

_Hai._

She pulled the trigger and shot the weapon, making it explode in front of the man's eyes. She ran toward the cliff and attacked the men who saw her and shot their bullets at her.

_Sui._

Hikari jumped from rock to rock and was right now facing the enemy head on.

_Gomen nasai._

Hikari avoided from their sight and grabbed one of the collars, holding her pistol on her hand.

_I wasn't able to protect you. Now…_

She pointed the gun at the man's temples, ready to pull the trigger.

_I will avenge you. For your otou-san… For Takishima._

**Happy New Year 2009! Now… kill me with any criticisms that would really help me on my writing. I would see to those reviews to make up for the confusion and stuff.**


	7. Do I still trust him?

**Me: Good God. Blue Mouse just HAD to beat me up because you killed Sui off.**

**CTE: You think that I killed Sui off?**

**Me: … wait. What?**

**CTE: Read this chapter. All will be cleared up.**

**Me: Wait… what the hell did you actually do to him?!**

**CTE: Like I just said, read and find out. We don't Special A.**

**Me: And we apologize for those who are wondering if Sui really died.**

**CTE: I'm not.**

**Me: I hate you so much.**

Chapter 7: Do I still trust him?

"_Oy, Hikari!" A young man shouted as he waved to the Hanazono survivor from afar. Hikari stood on the sandy beach, watching the sunset sadly. She usually wouldn't wear dresses or skirts, but after her adoption into the Taishou family, she would occasionally wear them on day offs. Her white dress flowed with the wind, and Hikari was holding her white sandels, walking on the sand with her bare feet. Her hair was cut short because the doctors and nurses had to change her bandages for her head, and her hair was already caked with dried blood from her forehead. Her injuries are gone, except the incident left a long scar on her forehead hidden under her hair. The young man ran up to her and asked._

"_You've been standing here almost every month. What's wrong, kid?" Funny, Hikari would have understood a little bit of English and have trouble understanding the language spoken around parts of the world if she was still living in Japan. When she lived with the Taishou family in America for almost a year, her understanding of the languages excelled from all of her tutors' expectations and surpassed the number of days, weeks, and months to understand the usage of English in parts of the states. In every contest and tournaments in her new high school, the Hanazono survivor finally obtained being the number one student. It should have made her happy, but it wasn't the same like Hakusenkan Academy. Hikari sighed and looked at the young man who reminded her so much of her dead brother._

"_I was just wondering if I could ever go back to Japan, Onii-sama. It's been a year since I stayed here to be protected from my murderer, but I'm missing my friends there. I didn't have the chance to say good-bye or see them before I left." Kimajime patted her shoulder and gave her reassurance._

"_Don't worry, Hikari. I'm sure that you would go back there again." Hikari turned her head to face her cousin and shouted._

"_How?! Obaa-san is preventing me from contacting them or going to Japan to see them! They are my special and important friends! I don't understand, Onii-sama!" Hikari lowered her head, staring at the rushing waves that were reaching up to her feet._

"_It's just a call to tell them that I am alive." The young man sighed and sat down on the sand, letting his jeans pick up the grains of sand._

"_Even if you called them that you are alive, it would also alert people about your location. It would also alert your murderer that you are still alive, wanting to get your revenge." Hikari frowned and looked at the young man's calm and clean face with determined eyes._

"_I'm not looking for revenge! I just want that murderer to be brought to justice! I'm not that kind of person to hold a grudge for a long time." The Taishou heir looked at her eyes calmly and back to the ocean._

"_You may be that type of person, but everyone has a breaking point." Hikari didn't understand what he was trying to say and sat down next to him, holding her knees together._

"_I'm not sure what you are saying." The young man looked at the girl beside him and looked ahead at the setting sun that is reaching to the end of the ocean._

"_I'm trying to say that not everybody has an endless road ahead of them. Everyone, including you and me, has a dead end somewhere in our lives that we tend to snap or have no control on our bodies and minds. Showing emotions, having breaking points, immediately act on something that we see is wrong… we are humans after all." Kimajime stood up and dusted away the sand stuck to his pants._

"_Come on. Let's go, Hikari. I'm starting to sound like that stupid sempai back in the camp. I can just hear him now, laughing at me and saying that I just said the same thing like when we first met." The young man held out his hand, and Hikari took it, letting him pull her up. However, instead of letting go of his hand, Hikari still held it and asked._

"_Onii-sama?" Kimajime raised an eyebrow and answered with his mouth shut._

"_Hm?" Hikari smiled softly and asked._

"_I-Is it all right that when I'm old enough to watch out for myself, can I go to Japan… with you and Namaka-chan? I want to show my family that my new family is taking care of me very well." The young man smiled and ruffled Hikari's hair._

"_Sure, kid! It's a promise!"_

0000

"The shot has hit the dummy. Ranging the attack, approximately 214 miles away. Team Light has engaged combat. Team Caution is still in position. Team Alpha is on their way to provide aid for Team light. Field Martial Taishou is still communicating with the Special Forces, and Team Wise is still in process of searching for the bomb." A soldier stated as she informed the situation.

"That's good to hear!" Michael's voice was heard through the intercom, "So, Takishima-san. Are you being comfortable there?"

"If you mean otou-san and Sui, they're enjoying it." Kei growled out as he was stepping on his father's head from going to his office about his beloved chair and holding back Sui from marching out to get some sleep. They were in the lower floor, and they were watching the events coming through each computer screen in a safe place. The important people were being protected by a lot of soldiers, and Kei couldn't do anything about it as long as the major was pulling the "Hikari will blame everything is her fault if Kei gets killed" card. Kei has already gotten the sleeping Sui out from bed and carried him and his father all the way down to the stairs. He didn't know what the soldiers were doing in Sui's room, but he was positively sure that they replaced Sui with a dummy that was almost identical to Sui's face and size. It was quite creepy to people to see a doll that has the same face as the original person.

"This is Caution. Light has caught the enemy's attention. Do we move?" The soldier frowned and responded.

"Negative, Lieutenant David. Wait for Colonel Taishou's command." They were looking at four different screens: one in Sui's room where the Sui-dummy was shot at the head and off the bed as the soldiers were confused when they stepped inside the room. Another was overseeing his father's office where Sean is carefully cutting the leather with a scalpel, which was very sharp to cut open the strongest hide, and Tony unscrewing the machine. The other screen next to it has a point of view from Michael to see anything suspicious from the seat. Finally, the last one was overseeing the battle from David's position.

"Hey, Namaka-chan! Has Taishou-sama called back from anything about the police force?" Michael asked as he continued to monitor his teammates' duty just in case he has to pull them both out from the explosion. The little girl, woken up to see Hikari in action, shook her head and swung her legs from sitting on the chair.

"Iie, Michael-dono. Obaa-chan didn't call, so she is still talking to the police." Namaka pouted as she watched the screen where the men had some of their weapons blown up.

"It's not fair. I wanna see Hika-nee-san fight from what she is seeing." Michael chuckled and reassured Namaka.

"Don't worry, Namaka-chan. I think it's better to see Hikari fight in action through another person's view. That's why we have David-san there." Kei frowned, knowing that Michael was protecting the little girl from seeing what Hikari was seeing. The Takishima heir placed his brother down, who pouted and reluctantly sat next to the Taishou child. He removed his foot off his father's face and sat on the open chair near the children. While watching the screen in disinterest, he wondered how Hikari is and wanted to see what Hikari is seeing. News about Hikari engaging combat with the group through Kimajime's orders almost gave him a heart attack, and Kei wanted to go out and save Hikari from this mess. Well, _someone_ is going to die if Hikari is harmed in any way.

"Uh… guys? I think we are sort of screwed." Captain Tony stated, and Michael commanded.

"Status report." Tony sighed and reported.

"You may have to move everyone far away from this place. We aren't dealing with an ordinary bomb." Everyone went silent before Michael choked out his question.

"You mean… we are facing-"

"It's a sensory bomb, sir. Any pressure on the seat would activate the bomb, including a feathery touch." Sean stated as Michael talked to Takishima.

"Takishima-san, cover Namaka-chan's ears. Sui, cover your ears until Takishima-san tells you to remove your hands." Sui was about to protest, but the look on his brother's face made him think twice. Reluctantly, Sui placed his hands over his ears, as Kei covered Namaka's ears. The major later cursed in whispers through the speaker that would make a sailor put into shame. After Michael was done swearing his life out, Kei removed his hands from Namaka's hearing range, ignoring her question, "What did Michael-dono say?" Kei tapped his younger brother's shoulder, and Sui removed his hands, scowling and sulking about not hearing what do soldiers say.

"Arigato for covering her ears, and excuse me for my language, Takishima-san." Michael stated. The screen showed that Michael was rubbing his forehead as he stared at the seat that had a metal plate inside the seat.

"We can't do anything for this chair or the seat that Sean just opened. Captain Tony will have to deactivate the bomb from under." Michael walked to Tony's side as he examined what was under the machine.

"Be careful, Tony-taichou." He stated to his comrade.

"This isn't an ordinary bomb we are deactivating. Everyone in this mansion would be gone if one slip up occurs." The brunette grinned from under the seat, reassuring the major.

"Don't worry. I'm not wasting my talent for nothing, so count on me." Michael smiled and nodded.

"I trust you."

"Michael-shoushou! Hanazono-chusa is not acting on her orders of disarming the enemy!" A soldier shouted through the communicator, alerting those who are still inside the Takishima mansion.

"Nani?!" Kei's heart stopped as he looked at the screen where the enemy was. All of the men were pointing their guns toward the woman, who jumped up from the cliff and landed on the ground. Hikari was there, but something about her was different. He couldn't see her eyes, but her movements were telling more than just her face…

"Hika-nee-san!" Namaka cried as she ran up to the control panels, hoping for the Hanazono survivor to hear her. Sadly, the communication between the Takishima mansion and the mountains were very limited, allowing some communication between them before they take action. Hikari was dodging and shooting at the enemy. All the enemies were behind rocks and doors as shields, and Hikari was using inhumane speed to avoid getting hit.

"Call Taishou-taisa! Tell him about Hanazono-chusa's acting out of Order! We'll take things from here for now." Michael commanded, and the soldier answered.

"Sir!" Switching from communicating with the major to the colonel, the soldier greeted.

"Taishou, sir!" Kimajime's voiced answered with a grunt.

"What is it? We are in a hurry!" The screen showed Hikari running close to one of the enemies' and appearing in front of the enemy. The woman grabbed his collar and slammed him against the rock, grabbing her pistol and pointing to his forehead. Kei's heart stopped when he saw Hikari's eyes, feeling cold from looking at Hikari. Her eyes showed bloodlust and rage like a wild animal lashing out. The Takishima heir realized the reason why Hikari told him to stay away. Not only she killed people and had her hands covered with blood, Hikari had that insane look before she would realize what she has done. The soldier, shaking his head to rid of the awe of their leader's ability, answered Kimajime.

"Hanazono-chusa isn't acting according to your command, sir! She is acting on her own and is now pointing a pistol at the enemy's head!"

"NANI?!" Kimajime shouted, causing almost everyone to go deaf, and immediately switched his communicator to contact Hikari. He didn't realize that his speaker was still on for everyone to hear.

"Hanazono!" Kimajime shouted, and everyone, except for Kei, winced at the tone of voice he had for Hikari.

"Do not attack the enemy with your gun! I repeat! Do not fire your gun!" Kei glanced at the screen and frowned. Hikari didn't respond to Kimajime or replied, but her position was still the same.

"Hika-nee-san's not responding!" Namaka cried and grabbed the microphone for Kimajime to hear.

"Onii-san! What did you do to Hika-nee-san?!" Kimajime growled and snapped back.

"Stay out of this, Namaka. This is not your business."

"What did you do to Hika-nee-san?! Why is she like that?! Hika-nee-san's not like this, so what did you do?! She said that you were training her to protect people!" Kimajime's shout was so loud that everyone covered his ears from it.

"I TOLD YOU!! YOU ARE NOT TO PRY INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS!!" The young Taishou child had her eyes watery and bit her lip from crying. She didn't do anything and was worried for Hikari, and Kimajime was yelling at her for "prying into other people's business." The little girl was just worried about her "cousin" and didn't want Hikari to shoot out of orders. Kei, witnessing this event going way too far for a child, marched up to the microphone, grabbed it from Namaka's grasp, and shouted through it.

"Don't snap at your imotou! She's still young!" Kimajime growled and spat out.

"Takishima-san, this isn't your problem as well." Kei slammed his hand on the controls and shouted out, scaring everyone in the room.

"This is all of our business if we don't do something! Don't take this up as an ordinary mission! This is a life and death situation, and you just take this as daily life!" Kei remembered Hikari being hurt at night and bit his lip. Hikari said that it was nobody's fault that her family died and she left Japan, but Kei should have been there to bring her under his wing, comforting her and taking care of her. Kei wanted Hikari to have the best life she could every experience, but he left her to suffer through it all. He didn't like how Hikari suffered under Kimajime's harsh attitude while she was the one raising Namaka, and Kimajime yelling at Namaka was over the edge. The Takishima heir had enough of this. Hikari deserved better for working her hardest and surviving through the harsh reality.

"Hikari has suffered enough because of you and your ego, and all you can think of is completing this mission! She lost her family, left her friends without saying good-bye, and endured all the training you put her through because of you and your code. Hikari has worked harder than you and has protected you and your family with the life she rebuilt, and you tell her to follow orders and to listen to what you say. Her morale is to protect the ones she cares about, not to follow orders that have no meaning!" Kei took a deep breath.

"You are supposed to be an onii-san to Namaka and Hikari, an example of how an onii-san should be through their eyes. They are protective and loving to their siblings, a person, who they should look up and follow an example of a great, caring person, not a cold-hearted fool. If you can't see how much you are reminding Hikari about Atsushi in the past, then you are not fit to be called 'aniki' to both Hikari and Namaka." There was silence, but it wasn't a tension kind of silence. Some were worried that the colonel shut off the communicator; others were silent to hear this from the Takishima heir; but the two Takishima members and Namaka were awed, knowing how much Kei cared for Hikari. In a few seconds, Kimajime asked.

"Has Hanazono fired the gun yet?" The soldier looked at the screen squinted, looking at the screen.

"N-No. I don't think so. It looks like… she's thinking or something." Kimajime sighed and made a request to Kei.

"Takishima-san, go talk to Hanazono. She may need a reasoning from you, and I hope she'll listen to you." Kei was surprised at first but sighed in relief, feeling the silence lifted. The soldier switched the communications again to let HIkari hear Kei's voice. Nodding to the soldier, Kei breathed in, felt courageous to calm Hikari, and spoke out.

"Hikari. It's Takishima. Please, listen to me."

0000

"_Onii-sama?" Hikari called out when she peaked inside his room. It was getting dark and late, and the Hanazono survivor hasn't seen her cousin all day. She didn't know what was going on, but for some reason, her cousin seemed out of it. It was dangerous for a lady like her to walk around the mansion at night, but Hikari didn't feel the fear like all girls should. She was in her sleepwear, and she had to cover her freezing body with a robe. Her short hair grew to her shoulder blades, making her head feeling normal rather than feeling light headed._

"_Onii-sama? Are you there?" The sound of a snorting came the bed, and Hikari heard him groan._

"_Hn? Hikari? What are you doing up so late?" Kimajime sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The moonlight shone down on his bed, revealing him to be half naked with boxers on. Oblivious to the fact that she was in a guy's room, Hikari huffed and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at the young man._

"_Where were you all day, Onii-sama? I've been looking for you all day!" The young man smiled and flopped back down on his bed._

"_Ah… here, there. Somewhere." Hikari pouted and crossed her arms._

"_Fine then. Don't tell me." He chuckled softly and let the chuckles die down. The room was getting tense, and Hikari knew that something was wrong. Usually, the room would be cheerful and sometimes calm, but the tension in the atmosphere was giving her the willies._

"_Something happened to you." Hikari blurted out and saw her cousin tense up for some reason. Kimajime put on a smiling face and asked in confusion._

"_What are you talking about, Hikari?" The Hanazono survivor shook her head, walked to Kimajime's bed, grabbed a chair from his desk, and sat next to cousin's right side like he was sick. She put up a frown and crossed her arms, glaring at her cousin._

"_I know something happened to you. In this room, I would usually be calm and cheerful when I entered. However, when I tried to find you and looked in here," Hikari removed her arms away and looked down, explaining how bad the tension was in his room._

"_Your room sends out a chilly feeling like something is going to happen." Her cousin chuckled bitterly and looked at the wall beside him, away from Hikari's sight._

"_I think it's just your imagination, Hikari. Nobody says that my room's cold." Hikari frowned, stating the fact._

"_I can sense tension and the aura of the room when I was once iving with my original family and hanging out with my friends. I wouldn't lie about it." Kimajime sighed and looked up at the ceiling; his eyes showed sadness and frustration through the moonlight. Hikari knew that something is wrong about him. His eyes would show the kindness and cheerful, calm side in him when he is with Hikari, but now, things have been different._

"_I can't avoid you when it comes to tension in the room." Kimajime sat up, letting his right arm rested on his right knee as his left arm supported him. He sighed out loud and looked at Hikari._

"_Do you want me to give you details or just be blunt?" Hikari, thinking that being blunt is more like getting this over, answered him._

"_Ano… blunt, please?" Kimajime looked down and whispered._

"_I am being drafted to Iraq in the afternoon, so I have to leave in the morning." Hikari felt like she stopped breathing when those words were spoken out of his mouth. She was surprised, but she couldn't help herself but to panic._

"_It… it can't be…" He sighed and nodded._

"_It's true."_

"_Don't go!" Hikari threw herself on Kimajime and hugged him tightly. Kimajime stiffened when he felt his cousin hug him and wondered what was all that about. He never heard her shout like that or do that kind of reaction. Probably it is some sort of reaction like when a family realizes that one of their sons, daughters, or other members is going to war?_

"_O-Oy, kid. It's not going to be that bad. It's how the code goes. Members of the family have to go to the battlefield someday to prove their loyalty to the family." Kimajime could have patted her back when he felt something wet on his skin. He froze and didn't know what was that wet feeling from. The Taishou heir held Hikari's shoulders and pushed her away a bit to see her eyes. Hikari…_

"_I don't care!"… was crying. Never saw tears before, Kimajime didn't know what to do. The code said that Taishou members should never cry in public or cry at all, so he never saw what was crying like. However, Hikari wasn't a Taishou member through birth, so she didn't know the code._

"_I don't want you to go!" She sobbed as she hugged him again, crying on his shoulder._

"_I don't want to lose another one who I care! I don't want to lose you!" Kimajime felt something soften inside of him. Hikari wasn't still over her family's deaths, and it left her a huge scar on her emotional side. Hearing about the deployment from him, Kimajime realized that Hikari was already attached to the Taishou family like she was attached to hers. He didn't know what he could do for her, but he held her close, trying to comfort the Hanazono survivor the best as he can. After all, he never knew how to comfort a crying person, especially Hikari._

"_Hikari. I'll be all right. I'll come back to you, obaa-san, and Namaka in one piece, so there's no need to cry." He patted her back and hugged her around her waist._

"_This war is not going to take away my life, Hikari. Nobody, not even a small explosive, is going to take away my reason for living. This war is not going to change me." Kimajime was able to pull Hikari away from him, but he held her close, wiping away the tears that fell from eyes._

"_Please, trust in me." Hikari looked up to meet with Kimajime's eyes. She loved him like she loved her brother, and being with him made her strong, helping her pick up the pieces of her broken heart. She would wait for him until he returned with a smile on his face. She uttered out those three words that would later be crushed by his change._

"_I trust you." Kimajime smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately._

0000

"I… trusted you… Onii-sama." Hikari whispered as she held her gun pointed between the man's temples.

"You said that you were coming back in one piece. You said that war is not going to change you. You said so yourself." She wasn't conscious of what was going on, but she was talking as the memories were filling her up with sadness and hate. Memories of being with Kimajime both made her happy and hurt her emotionally, and her mind was replaying the good times before her until the Taishou heir changed. He did come back like what he said, but it wasn't what she wanted. She didn't even notice that the man was scared, scared of dying and of her unemotional eyes. It petrified him, but Hikari didn't see the petrifaction she was causing.

"_Hikari. It's Takishima. Please, listen to me."_

"Ta… ki… shima?" Hikari muttered quietly, hearing his voice from somewhere. Her emotions were held into a stop, and her world ceased to move. The memories stopped playing in her head, and her mind slipped into darkness. Hikari couldn't see what was going on, but she could hear his voice somewhere in her conscious.

"_Please, regain your senses. Regain yourself. Do not kill anyone that would hurt you even more." _The voice, it was soothing. She remembered Kei when he was still around. They had contests, went out on dates, had fun with each other… those memories were still fresh in her mind. Hikari's eyes softened and whispered his name.

"Takishima…"

"_You have suffered enough. Please, don't do anything that would make you suffer even more." _The memories of coming back to Japan and seeing Kei came to her mind, and Hikari saw how happy and estatic Kei was when she came back alive. Hikari felt guilt crawling up to her throat when she saw how she reacted to him. He thought that she reacted like that because she was living under the Taishou family and had become a soldier. Kei thought she changed because she was a soldier, a bodyguard who knows no feelings except to protect her clients. She wanted to tell him that the reason she was staying away from him is because she didn't want him to find out that she had killed people and dirtied her hands, but Hikari couldn't. The Hanazono wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Those last tears of her life were gone by her family's deaths, and the remainder of those tears was sheded for her cousin's departure. She had nothing left to give, and she feared that the tears she would shed would be the disappearance of her emotions.

"_Please, Hikari. Lower your gun down. Nobody will come back."_ Hikari remembered how much Kimajime changed and now was holding her back from saving Sui. She berated herself from how weak she is. Sui, the poor boy. Namaka was being friends with the boy on some way, and Hikari was so happy to see that Namaka and Sui were getting along on some terms. However, she couldn't save the boy from death before dawn, and now she had to see his death through everything. It's true that nobody will come back, but at least she would be able to avenge Sui.

"Sui… he was killed… by these… _people_!" Hikari hissed as she unconsciously tightened her grip on the man's collar. The man struggled to open the woman's grasp by his own hands, but the woman's strength was stronger than his.

"These people… killed your brother!" Hikari shouted out, showing much anguish in her heart. She didn't care at this point if she showed emotion to her comrades, both her juniors and seniors. Kimajime said that showing emotion is a way to show that a person is human, and now Hikari was showing that she is a human more than her heartless cousin. Hikari breathed in and out harshly as she was ready to pull the trigger to avenge Sui's death.

"Hikari," Kei's voice called her out from her insanity, "Sui is still alive. He's with me."

Hikari's eyes widened in surprise but later softened into relief. The sniper didn't kill Sui; the young Takishima child was with Kei in safety. She wanted to jump in joy or cry in relief, but she realized that she was now in enemy's territory. With instinct and in conscious, she put away her gun and punched the man into unconsciousness.

"Hikari!" Kei shouted through the intercom in surprise. The man fell with a thud, and Hikari immediately jumped away from the enemies' sight, avoiding from getting shot. The team, behind her, was staying behind the trees, either watching their leader knocking out the enemy one by one or shooting the enemy's weapons to distract them.

"Don't worry, Takishima. I just knocked him out." She dashed close to another one and back chopped another one, making him unconscious. She heard Kei sighed in relief and asked himself.

"I swear… what am I going to do with my stress?" Hikari sidestepped to avoid the bullets in time and dashed to the group of people.

"How I serve iced Thai tea for the both of us? I have a lot of stress as well." In a split second, she was able to knock away some of the members unconscious. She heard Kei chuckle through the intercom.

"As you wish. I'll tell the maids to prepare the ingredients for you when you come back." Hikari smiled as she dashed toward the next group, dodging the bullets and knocking out the members in a close range. Unknown to her, the sniper was behind her, holding a pistol and trying to follow up her agility.

"Hikari! Look out behind you!" Kei shouted, and Hikari realized that someone was watching her every move and waiting for the right time to shoot. She dashed toward the nearest boulder as the gun followed her movement. The sniper pulled the trigger, and the bullet went straight through Hikari's left leg.

"GAH!!"

"Hikari!" She could hear everyone shout, and Hikari slammed her shoulder against the medium sized rock to stop her from going further, as the sound of bullets hit the boulder. The Hanazono survivor leaned against the larger rock and panted from all the excitement rushing through her viens. It also left her a wincing pain through her leg and little stamina in her body. Taking off the helmet, she shook her head to clear the pressure and heat, and Hikari checked her leg that was bleeding through her pants.

"Lieutenant Colonel! Are you all right? Report!" A soldier asked the second-in-command, and Hikari could finally hear clearly. Hikari ripped off the part of her pants and checked her calf. She hissed at the sight of it. It wasn't a gash like she was expecting for one, so the hole inside her muscle must be where the bullet was. The bullet would probably be staying in there until the mission is finished. Hikari grabbed bandages from her pocket and pulled the white cloth around her leg.

"I'm hit on the leg and stuck in one place. I need back up until Alpha and his team arrive, and my code name is 'Light.'"

"Roger!"

_THUD_!

"Actually, we're here." Hikari blinked and looked up to see Kimajime's uninterested, calm eyes. Hikari felt her blush creeping up and scrambled up to stand, flinching from the pain on her leg and feeling dizzy from the lack of energy.

"S-Sir! I-"

"Sit down, Hanazono." Hikari blinked in confusion and asked Kimajime.

"Sir?" Kimajime held Hikari's shoulder and pushed her down gently. Hikari was surprised by his gentleness, making her obey. She was scared of him, but when he was gentle, her body obeyed without resistant. The Hanazono survivor should have fought back when Kimajime was around, but this was different. She sat down, letting her eyes watch every move he made. He pulled the legging up to see the bloodied bandages where the bullet was. Kimajime sighed and ruffled her hair. Hikari's eyes widened, seeing that the same man that hurt her emotionally was patting her like he did three years ago.

"We'll get fixed up. Don't worry." Hikari bit her lip and looked down. There was finally concern in his voice, and she wanted to cry in joy to know that the same old Kimajime was still there. All she wanted was for him to come back in one piece… to have the same concerned voice… to be back with human emotions. That's all she wanted.

"Hanazono," Hikari looked up to see his eyes that showed more emotion than she could witness.

"Do you still trust me?" Hikari stared a bit more and finally smiled.

"Hai."

"Look out!" A soldier shouted, and Hikari didn't have time to look what was in front of her. Kimajime was immediately in front of her and embraced her, and a large force threw them away against the boulder where she hid.

Then, everything went black.

**This chapter's done. Now, we all know that Sui didn't really die, and we have seen a few events about Hikari's new life. Hikari's life is going to depend on how well she can reconnect her friends and connect with her new family. Criticisms are welcomed.**


	8. Are you happy?

**Okay. I'm gonna slow down on the updates again since college is going to start again. However, I'm beginning to see that I would have to put this up into hiatus until college is over. Right now, I have complications with my classes, and it's not going well. I may be planning on changing my major, and I want everyone to know that I may be going for Art. I was set up to study for another major, but I don't feel the dedication.**

**Additionally, I'm recovering from a beating from Blue Mouse for scaring the fridge out of her! Man! What is up with everybody today about getting heart attacks or the "go kill AF for making too much suspense each time there are cliffhangers" mode?**

**I don't own S.A.**

Chapter 8: Are you happy?

Kei was sitting next to Hikari's side as he watched her breathing softly and quietly. It has been three days since the surprise attack occurred on Team Light and Team Alpha. Team Caution was safe from upper ground, but their camera was damaged when a rock flew straight at the lens. Therefore, everybody observing the battle in the mountains couldn't see what happened until it was moments when the colonel called out a medical emergency and the field marshal called the group about the police accepting the case.

He combed his hair back and sighed in despair and relief. Hikari was one of the lucky ones that only needed a surgery on her leg to remove the bullet. Four of the soldiers were sent to the hospital for critical conditions, and ten others had minor injuries. However, she did hit her head pretty hard, making her unconscious for a few days. The personal doctor said that she would be all right for a few days, and her body was capable to recover faster than anyone. If it weren't for Kimajime's arm acting as a cushion, Hikari would have been the fifth member to be in the hospital for head damage. The door opened, and Kei looked up to see Kimajime in a sling around his arm.

"Has she woken up?" Kimajime asked as he took Hikari's right side, facing the other direction from Kei. Kei noticed that their younger siblings weren't around, but it was most likely their naptime. Namaka was persistent to go see Hikari, but Sui had to hold her back, letting Kimajime see her and getting the struggling Namaka in bed for a nap. Kei wished Sui luck for getting Namaka in bed.

"Iie. She's still asleep." Kei sighed as he held Hikari's hand gently. Her hand was still a little rough by all the training in the past and taking care of Namaka, but her hands were still soft like he remembered. The clock ticked by as the two men watched over the Hanazono survivor, who lived up to the name for a survivor. Kei looked up to the Taishou heir and narrowed his eyes. The soldiers said that the colonel had a sudden change of heart when the lieutenant colonel went unconscious. It was a good thing for the squad members, but Kei still saw him as a threat. There's something about him that Kei didn't like.

"So… what happened to your and Hikari's squad during that mission?" Kimajime closed his eyes, still maintaining his emotionless face.

"Our groups are recovering after that attack. Four of our members are stabilized, and they are now recovering in the hospital. We were able to rescue some of the enemies, including the sniper, for the police, but those, who were conscious, blew themselves up. The police investigators found out that there are small bombs in their molars, and they could activate the bomb were to use their top molars to press down on their lower jaw. Therefor, they removed the molars with the bomb, while the remaining enemies were unconscious. They probably killed themselves to prevent us from obtaining information from them." The Taishou heir opened his eyes that were half closed.

"If it wasn't for Hanazono to knock those members unconscious, we would reaching to a dead end and still protecting you guys." Kei sent out a dark glare, not knowing whether this Taishou member changed his attitude or not. Kimajime ignored that look and stared at Hikari, letting his bangs cover his eyes.

"Takishima-san." The Taishou heir took a sharp intake of oxygen and breathed out slowly.

"Are you… happy to see Hanazono?" Kei blinked and frowned. He didn't know what was Kimajime up to, but he couldn't refuse to answer a question that involves with his former rival.

"Hai. I am very happy to see Hikari again. I am also relieved that Hikari is doing well and alive after her family's deaths." Kimajime didn't look up and continued asking.

"Do you regret leaving her?" Kei's mind stopped playing for a moment when that question came up. Kimajime didn't stop there, but he continued questioning the Takishima heir.

"Are you willing to change or reconnect with her after all her years? Do you intend to 'bring her back'?" Kei didn't have to have that stern look on his face. He looked at his beloved sadly and touched her cheek. She had faced a lot in her life when she disappeared, and that peaceful look meant that Hikari was finally having peace in her life. He wanted that peaceful or happy look on her face, and Kei was determined to do everything in his power to bring her happiness, not the pain she has experienced through her life.

"I do regret leaving her. If I have known that she and her family would be endangered, then I would have stayed here, disobeying ojii-san and protecting them. I know that I cannot change the past, but I will do everything in my power to make her happy. I want to bring Hikari to places where she would become happy." He didn't speak through mind but through heart. He really loved Hikari that much, and the Takishima heir could finally speak out his honesty to somebody other than Hikari.

"I see." When Kei looked up to see Kimajime's frown, they locked eyes together, and he didn't like it. Kimajime was sending out a protective aura around him, which his aura clashed with Kei's aura. He didn't know why Kimajime was asking him all those questions, but it seems that Kimajime wasn't happy about his answers. It was tense like it was in the kitchen, but Hikari was asleep, oblivious to the tension. Therefore, they can freely make this tension heavy between them, trying to dominate who has more power.

"That's good to hear that you and Hanazono are trying to reconnect. However…" His aura was so intense that it equaled with Kei's dark aura.

"Hanazono has told me about you. She said that you are her rival and has forgiven you for leaving her, but you left her and threatened her and her friends about closing her favorite high school. She said that you were trying to protect them, but you were actually hurting her. " Kei glared back and growled out.

"I could have said the same thing to you, Taishou-san." His aura intensified, making the tension grow and equal to Kimajime's.

"You made friends with Hikari, but you only betrayed her trust when you changed. I, however, realize my mistake to resolve it, not to continue hurting other people." Kimajime glared back and was about to retort back until they heard knocking and a familiar, raspy voice.

"Colonel Kimajime Taishou." Kimajime frowned and stood up, walking toward the door. Before he would open the door, he made a statement that would be fought and challenged.

"Then, you and I are foes. I don't like how close you two are, and I want you to stay away from her. If you hurt Hikari or betray her trust again, then I'll protect her." Then, he opened the door before Takishima could make him eat those words.

"Obaa-sama." The Taishou heir saluted, and the grandmother saluted back.

"It seems that you and Hikari-chan have been recovering. I have heard reports about the casualties and the capture of the enemy, including Hikari's injuries and success for capturing the enemy. I have also heard the success of disabling the bomb before it can activate. I presume that Hikari is still sleeping." Kimajime nodded and let his hand fall to his side.

"Hai." The grandmother sighed and looked behind her grandson to see the Takishima heir. He seemed calm about all this, but she knew better. From learning about her grandson's complex personality, Kenbo can actually see traces of anger in his eyes. She smiled softly and walked toward Hikari's side, observing her adopted grandchild's soft breathing.

"I heard that you managed to bring Hikari back to her senses, Takishima-san. From what Namaka-chan and Sui-kun's amazement, you and Hikari have grown closer for such a small amount of time." Kei nodded, and the grandmother looked at him.

"For taking care of Hikari and bringing her back, I am grateful that you became good friends with her once again." The grandmother bowed to him, surprising both Kimajime and Kei.

"Taishou-san." The grandmother stood up straight, and Kei cleared his throat. He has respect for this old woman since she was the one who wasn't harsh and strict like a certain Taishou, and he should apologize to her for the first day they met. Therefore, his apology was worded differently.

"Hikari has been my special friend ever since we were children. I could never let anything happen to her. You don't have to bow to me." Kei said and looked at Hikari's face. That short speech was very true. Hikari was special to him, and he was definitely not letting anything happen to her. If there were anything that Hikari needs, he would get it for her.

"Takishima-san?" He looked up, and the grandmother stated.

"I have a request." The grandmother looked down to her adopted grandchild's face and asked.

"Is it alright with you to let Hikari and Namaka stay in your place for two months?"

0000

_What makes a person happy?_

" '_**Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure: where your treasure, there your heart; where your heart, there your happiness.' – St. Augustine."**_

"_**I think that's what makes a person happy, even if I don't quite understand his meaning."**_

"… _**and you said that you're smart."**_

"_**Aw… shut up…"**_

_What makes Namaka happy?_

"_**Okaa-san! Welcome home!"**_

_What makes Sui happy?_

"_**Hikari! That was the best meal I ever had!"**_

_What makes oji-san happy?_

"_**Hikari-chaaaan!"**_

_What makes obaa-san happy?_

"_**I know you can do it, Hikari. I'm proud of you."**_

_What makes my teammates happy?_

"_**Hey! It's Lieutenant Colonel."**_

"_**Konichiwa, Hikari-chusa! You finally made it to the party!"**_

"_**Hell yeah! Let's bring out the beer!"**_

"_**Shut up! Hanazono-chusa is still a minor! You better not give her anything that makes her drunk, or I'll send you to the hospital until next week!"**_

_What makes my friends happy?_

"_**Hiiiikariiii!"**_

"_**Ah! Ohayo, Akira!"**_

"_**Yo! Hikari!"**_

"_**Ohayo, Hikari!"**_

"_**Ohayo, minna-san!"**_

_What makes my family happy?_

"_**Are you all right, Hikari?"**_

"_**I'm glad that you are all right, but don't do that again, baka!"**_

"_**One more time, Hikari! Then, let's take a break."**_

"_**Argh! Otou-san no baka!"**_

"_**Atsushi!"**_

_What makes Onii-sama happy?_

…

…_What makes Onii-sama happy?_

…

… _What makes Takishima happy?_

"… _**Please… wake up."**_

… _Takishima?_

"Hikari, wake up." Her eyes fluttered open, and Hikari groaned at the bright light shining down on her eyes. Hikari tried moved her arm to block out the light, but something was holding her back. Hikari looked to her side and saw a blurry ball of blond. Wait…

"Takishima?"

"Hikari…" The figure hugged her, and when she saw the blond hair up close, she knew that Kei was right beside her. Hikari didn't mind that Takishima was there, but she was sensitive when it comes to hugging or touching. She would have jumped away from him and his hug if it weren't for the bed and the sling on her leg. Hikari fidgeted and stuttered.

"T-Takishima! W-W-What are you doing?!" She heard him sigh and whispered.

"I thought that you died when we couldn't see you. I thought you would disappear… again." Hikari's eyes softened, and she hugged him back. Hikari thought she was dead as well, and she thought that it would be all right when she would wake up and continue with the training. However, Kei's matter was different. The news about her disappearance must have left a heavy mark in everyone who lived in Japan, and he was the one who was heartbroken to hear that Hikari had disappeared before he came back to Japan… before he could reunite with his friends… before he could graduate with everyone… before he could see her. She closed her eyes and whispered.

"Gomen nasai, Takishima. I won't scare you again." Kei and Hikari pulled away from each other and smiled. Kei's forehead touched Hikari's forehead, and he smiled in happiness and relief.

"It's all right." Hikari smiled a bit and looked around. There was no clock in the room, so she asked straight out of the blue.

"How long was I out?" Kei frowned and answered.

"Three days. If you are wondering what time is it, then it is three o' clock in the afternoon." Hikari's eyes widened, as she was shocked to hear the news. She even pulled away and was frantically looking around for everyone. She was safe, but Hikari couldn't help but worry about her new family and friends.

"I was sleeping for three days?! How about the others? Are they okay?" Kei smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"They are going to be all right. You and your comrades are under my care along with your teammate, Nicky. Michael-san, Tony-san, and Sean-san have disabled the bomb right before it could activate, and it was just in time before the enemy could have activated the bomb. Sui and Namaka are taking a nap, and everyone's fine." Hikari sighed in relief and flopped her head back to the pillow, feeling the tension lifted up from her shoulders.

"Thank goodness." Kei didn't say anything, but seeing relief through Hikari's eyes and voice told him that she was going to be all right. She held his hand and turned around to look into his eyes.

"Takishima?"

"Hm?" Hikari looked at Kei and smiled.

"Arigatou…" She closed her eyes and leaned in to Kei's face.

"… for bringing me back." There, Hikari kissed him on the cheek. Kei felt the world around him stopped when Hikari's soft lips made contact with his cheek. He dreamt about Hikari kissing him and telling him to move on when the Hanazono survivor disappeared before he came back. Then, he would wake up in the middle of the night right before he could reach out for her, telling her not to leave him. Those dreams were painful and heartbreaking. Right now, he felt that this kiss meant something that is filled with happiness and relief, and feeling the real kiss and seeing Hikari alive revealed that the meaning was real.

_BAM!_

"N-NANI?!" The two adults quickly broke apart and turned to the door to see Sui and Namaka gaping like fishes. Sui was holding back Namaka from entering the room since she has to go take a nap, but the young Taishou girl had a knack for being very violent… saying "Hey! Hika-nee-san got out from trouble, so I'm going to be like her!" Therefore, it didn't go well for Sui and the other maids, and Namaka really had to kick the door open. Right now, the two youngsters were staring at their older siblings, and Namaka assumed that Kei had… well… forced Hikari to kiss him.

"Get away from Hika-nee-san!" Namaka yelled and ran to Kei's seat, pulled the chair a few feet away from Hikari with inhumane strength for a child, and jumped to latch herself on Hikari's arm, glaring at the Takishima heir. It surprised all of them, especially Sui, but it somewhat annoyed Kei. Kei and Hikari had a flashback of how one of their friends would act around Hikari, and that look almost mirrored the same look if it wasn't for Namaka's face. Normally, Namaka would act like a sweet child, not to mention possessive, and cling to Hikari, but seeing her carrying Kei, who is heavier than Namaka's weight, Hikari had to ask if she was actually strong.

"Namaka-chan?" The little, possessive girl turned her nasty glare at Kei into an innocent stare at Hikari.

"When did you get so strong?" Namaka pouted and hugged her arm tighter, and Hikari was worried that her arm might feel numb.

"I don't know. Probably those lessons you taught me about judo because you said that I would have to learn how to protect myself when you aren't around. However…" Poor Kei had to recall how much Namaka's look equaled to Akira's look that so much said "you do anything to Hikari, and I'll rip your skin off."

"I don't like how close you and Takishima-dono are. He's up to something." Namaka hugged her closer, and Hikari sighed in stress. The Hanazono couldn't be mad at the child who grown close to her like a daughter, but that doesn't mean that Namaka should use her strength to be rude… like kicking the door open and pulling Kei's chair. She glanced at Kei, who had a shocked face, and frowned, lightly scolding the Taishou child.

"That doesn't mean that you could just do what you will and pull someone away or kick the door open. It's rude." Namaka was about to whine but was silenced when Hikari gave her a disapproving look. The Taishou girl grumbled and rested her head on her arm, not looking at anyone. Hikari looked up to Kei and sighed, patting the Taishou child's back.

"Gomen nasai, Kei. She's too young to understand what was going on." She whispered for Kei to hear. Kei smiled softly and waved it off like it was a trivial problem. Sui sighed and asked Hikari.

"How did you do that? That gaki wouldn't listen to me, but when you're around, she's like an obedient puppy! It's like you are her okaa-san or something!" Namaka was about to shout at Sui, but Hikari covered her mouth, laughing nervously to prevent Namaka from shouting.

"Well… if you lived with Namaka long enough when she is a baby, she listens to you, even though she doesn't like it." Namaka whined, getting Hikari's attention. She sighed and patted Namaka's head.

"Namaka-chan, it's time for your nap. Onii-sama and obaa-san aren't going to like it when you don't take a nap." Namaka shook her head and looked up with determined eyes.

"I'm not sleepy! Besides, obaa-san and onii-san aren't going to be here." Hikari's mind stopped working, and she breathed out a question.

"What do you mean?" Namaka frowned and pointed her finger up in the air like she was thinking.

"Ano… obaa-san needs onii-san to go to a meeting in Japan for the policemen, and later, she needs onii-san to come back to America for new people who are joining in the army." Namaka looked at Hikari with a big smile and said out loud.

"She said that you and me are going to stay here with Takishima and his family for two months! Obaa-san and onii-san are leaving tomorrow morning!"

"NANI?!" Hikari shouted, surprising everyone by her outburst. Hikari couldn't think straight, so she tossed off the covers, revealing her clean white tank top and white panties. Sui had to cover his eyes, telling her to put pants on, because he didn't want to see a girl naked, and the young Takishima didn't want his older brother to kill him. Kei, however, was blushing tomato red when he realized that Hikari was just in her panties after the female captain wrapped new bandages on her leg, removing the pants because it was an obstacle for her recovery. He never saw so much of Hikari's skin except their vacation in Hawaii, and he realized that he was staring out in the open. He could have just looked away, but when Hikari placed Namaka on his lap, Kei was back into reality to see Hikari untying the sling as her leg landed on the bed.

"What are you doing, Hikari?!" Kei grabbed Hikari's arm, as she tried to get out of the bed. For goodness sake, the woman just recovered from the surgery and had a crazy idea of getting out with an injury. She looked at Kei with such determination that Kei almost lost his grip on Hikari. It was that same determined look, and it meant that she wouldn't change her mind.

"I'm gonna find Onii-sama. He and obaa-san can't leave yet." Kei frowned and reassured her.

"It's just two months, Hikari. They'll come back to get you and Namaka. There's no rush."

"THERE IS A REASON!!" Hikari shouted before slapping her mouth, regretting shouting at her friends and a hint of a reason. She didn't really mean that, but her mind and body both automatically moved on their own without her own knowledge. It's either that or something else.

_What makes Onii-sama happy? _

That's right. Her dream wasn't a dream at all; it was that she was talking to her conscious about people around her being happy. She was able to get everyone to be happy, but she never knew what makes her older cousin happy. Hikari realized that her older cousin was making her happy for the whole year, and she never did anything to make him happy. She glanced at Kei for a bit and immediately regretted her outburst. Her reason also shocked him to the very core, and he looked… betrayed. She didn't want to see that look on his face; it made her look like the bad guy here. How difficult is it to make people happy when one person isn't happy?

"I… gomen nasai. I didn't mean to shout like that. It's… it's just…" She clutched the bed and looked down, feeling guilty from all this. She really didn't want to tell him, but she didn't want to lose his trust. It wasn't like her to shout out loud to have a reason to bring her cousin and grandmother to a certain place.

"Hikari." She felt her chin being lifted up by a larger hand, and her sight met with Kei's eyes that were filled with comfort and care.

"If there's a reason for Hikari to stop Taishou-san and her obaa-san from leaving, I'll help you. I want to help you find your happiness because you are my special person, the one who I care the most." Hikari's eyes widened, feeling touched by Kei's words and feeling the doubt disappear from her heart. The Hanazono survivor held his hand that held her chin, holding his hand close to her heart.

"Arigatou. You don't know how much this means so much to me." She wanted to do this for her new family and for herself. She needed to face this that held her back for all these years. It was the sake for everyone's happiness.

0000

"Where the hell are you taking us, Hanazono-chusa?!"

"Hikari-chan? What's the matter? Where are we going?"

"Hika-nee-san? What's wrong?"

"It's something… I have to show you." The whole family was following their adopted family member who was also following the Takishima heir. It was in the middle of the afternoon and evening, so everyone else has gone out of school or going home from work. However, the Taishou family and the Takishima family will be always at work, so there was no rest for them. However, the Hanazono survivor wanted to go somewhere with both the Taishou family and the Takishima family. Hikari was following Kei and Sui somewhere, and she seemed to be serious about this and brought her family with her and three small bouquets of flowers.

"Takishima-san, why are we here?" The colonel of the group growled out, not feeling comfortable for following the young man. Namaka agreed with her brother and asked the younger brother with an annoyed face.

"Yeah! Why a graveyard? Out of all the places, why a graveyard?" It was true. They were walking in a place where tombs and stones were standing where flowers and gifts were placed on the stones that carved people's names. It gave Namaka the creeps since she never went through a place like this, but she put up a brave face to match Hikari's mood. Kei and Sui turned their heads around and gave the Taishou children an answer.

"Ask Hikari. She has her own reason." Hikari and Kenbo felt a chill in the air, as Namaka hid behind Hikari's leg. The women were a bit freaked out about the similarities between Kei and Sui, and it was freakier that they said it at the same time. Kimajime didn't say anything, but he did raise an eyebrow at them. The Taishou family dropped the topic and continued following their cousin and the Takishima brothers. They reached to the top where three graves stood together, and Kei stopped.

"We're here." Kei stated, and the Taishou family and Hikari stared at the graves that had her family's names on them: Masako, Jiro, and Atsushi.

"Hika-nee-san?" The young Taishou child asked her cousin.

"Why do they have your last name? Are they your family?" Her questions were not answered. Hikari felt her knees weaken as she walked closer to their graves. For a long time, she finally met her family once again, and her memories of her family played in her head. Some were good memories; others were bad, but she will keep those memories forever. She loved them dearly, and she still does… even after death.

The Hanazono survivor kneeled down and placed the bouquets on each grave. Later, she held her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed. Kei and Sui followed after her and later Kimajime. Namaka was about to ask what Hikari was doing, but her grandmother covered her mouth, shaking her head that it's not the time to talk. Namaka didn't say anything, willingly obeying her grandmother and watched Hikari pray. The grandmother followed Hikari, but she used her free hand, holding up flat palm up like she did for her fallen comrades. They stayed there for a while until Hikari opened her eyes and stood up. Kei and Sui glanced at Hikari and stopped praying, followed by her adopted family.

"Takishima? Could you go back with Sui and my cousins? I want to talk to my family with obaa-san for a bit." Kei wondered what she was going to do and what was she going to talk about, but he knew better than to pry into Hikari's personal secrets. He nodded and ushered the two cousins away with him, leaving Hikari to talk. Sui and Namaka gave her a worried glance, but Hikari smiled gently.

"I'll be fine. I just want to talk to my family." Sui nodded and walked away, but Namaka gave her a worried glance before walking with her brother. Kimajime looked ahead, not worrying about his cousin, but Kei and Hikari knew that he was worried inside. Kei turned his head to the side and instructed her.

"We'll wait in the front of the gates before you and Taishou-san are done." Hikari gave him a reassured smile and nodded.

"Arigatou, Takishima." The Takishima heir nodded and looked ahead, following the others to leave Hikari. The sight of the group was getting smaller and smaller until they couldn't see them, feeling the tension lifting up. She faced her family's grave and gained confidence to speak to her adopted grandmother.

"I want to ask you something." The grandmother closed her eyes and didn't say anything. People would think that the grandmother would be ignoring the woman, but Hikari knew that Kenbo would listen to her and answer later. She also knew that her grandmother would have to answer her questions sooner.

"Obaa-san, how do you know otou-san and okaa-san? Is there a reason why you adopted me into your family?" Hikari knew that facing her family's graves meant it was time to know the truth. She was kept in the dark for so long, and it was now time to know the reason of her sudden adoption. She was grateful that she was adopted into a family who could support her, but she was also irritated that she was kept away from Japan and her friends. Kenbo sighed and looked at the grave.

"Twenty years ago, my stupid son and my daughter-in-law were driving through the mountains at night, going to their vacation home to relax. Kimajime was left under my care since my husband was in the military to train the soldiers for the next war. Therefore, Kimajime didn't know the incident. It was in the middle of the night, and no cars were there to provide little light for them. In the middle of the road, my son's car was spiraling out of control and crashed against the wall. He said he couldn't remember what happened, but my son heard a car pull over and shouts before he blacked out." Kenbo knelt down and stared at the grave of Hikari's father.

"I rushed to Japan when I heard the accident through a call in Japan. When I reached there, I met your okaa-san and otou-san with you and your aniki, Atsushi." The grandmother smiled and looked at Hikari, who was shocked to hear that Kenbo actually met her.

"You were still a baby, so you didn't remember me. I don't know if Atsushi-chan remembers, but Kimajime did remember him having the same image. Your parents and I were very surprised that Atsushi and Kimajime looked the same and act the same. It was so funny that they could pass up as twins. Your parents told me everything about the accident after they were going back home from the beach, and I realized that the moment your parents saved my child and his wife was the moment of great gratitude. My son woke up in a hospital with his wife next to him, bandaged and taken care of, and I could remember rushing in there, hugging my daughter-in-law and smacking that stupid son of mine." Kenbo touched the names of the Hanazono family and gave a sad smile.

"A week later, my son and his wife were going to depart back to America, and we had to leave. Their vacation was up, and we had to go back to America in the afternoon. However, I took my time to meet your parents again and told them that I was very grateful again. I wanted to give them something in return, but your parents said that they were doing what is right. I wanted to do something for them, so I had the idea of adopting your family into mine." Hikari gasped and asked if they really accepted it.

"Is that why you adopted me into your home?" Kenbo laughed it away and shook her head.

"I wouldn't say that. Your otou-san said that it was a crazy idea and also said that it wasn't necessary to do that. However, I responded back that Atsushi and Kimajime were already friends in a week, and you would laugh when those two are around." Hikari couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. She actually laughed when her brother and her cousin were around, and the Hanazono woman didn't even remembered their young faces.

"I also said that your family is a part of the Taishou family, and it would be nice to see your children and my grandchildren grow up. In the end, your otou-san agreed, and you were already a member of our family." Hikari laughed softly, imagining an old lady beat her father through words and persuasiveness. Typical dad.

"It was very kind of you, obaa-san, but you shouldn't have done that for us." Kenbo smiled gently, stood up, and turned around, walking away from the graves.

"I know, but I wanted to see you and Atsushi-chan grow up into adults like Kimajime." Hikari followed her grandmother, but as soon she was few feet away from the tombstones, she felt the gentle warmth behind her. She turned around to see what was going on and gasped. Kenbo noticed that Hikari wasn't following and wondered what was going on that makes Hikari to turn around. The Taishou elder's eyes turned compassionate when she realized that Hikari was looking back to see the last of her family members.

"Hikari… let's go." Hikari turned around, but what Kenbo saw startled her the most. Hikari's face was smiling with tears trickling down her eyes. Kenbo was going ask what was wrong with her, but the Hanazono survivor shook her head and wiped the tears away. Her voice sounded strong and happy, and the tears weren't meant for sadness.

"I just saw my family." Hikari turned around to see the spirits of her mother, father, and finally her brother.

"They were smiling."

It was for happiness.

0000

Kei saw them coming back from afar. It wasn't too long since it was just a few minutes with the Taishou grandmother, but he was waiting outside in the cool breeze with the older Taishou member. Namaka wanted to stay outside to see Hikari, but Kei had to push the girl inside the limousine where it was warmer. Sui was also stuck with the brat, so they could hear shouts inside the limousine. The young children were inside the limousine, shouting each other through name-calling, and the two heirs were standing outside, trying to outdo each other.

"You should stay inside, Taishou-san. Our siblings would cause damage inside the limousine." Kimajime grunted.

"Don't worry about it, Takishima-san. Namaka is capable of defending herself. I'm worried about you being shot because you are still targeted." Kei bit his tongue from harming the Taishou heir, but his body was twitching in protest.

"The weather is cooling down, and you probably would catch a cold. It would be best for you to go inside for warmth." Kimajime clenched and unclenched his hand, trying not to punch the Takishima heir next to him.

"I've been trained to withstand weather conditions such as these. You are an important person. After all, your company depends on you." It was a good thing that the kids were inside, or they would have been scared out of their pants.

"Oy! Takishima! Onii-sama! We're back!" Hikari called out and waved her hand in the air, smiling brightly that matches with her bright eyes. Both men raised an eyebrow at the survivor, wondering what happened to Hikari. Kenbo coughed, catching everyone's attention.

"If you are done stand there gentlemen, would you mind going inside? The temperature is getting cold." Kimajime nodded and opened the door for the elder. The grandmother glared at her grandson and went inside, muttering about bruising her ego and "I'm not that old! I can take care of myself!" Hikari chuckled and went in, and Kei smiled. Kimajime noticed that Kei was smiling at Hikari and glared at him. Kimajime went in the car after her and soon Kei, who closed the door behind him.

On their trip back to the mansion, Sui and Namaka were sleeping on Hikari: the young boy's head sleeping on her shoulder and the young girl's head on her lap. Kenbo had her head down, but she was also out like a light bulb. The two men and the young woman were the ones who were still awake, and Hikari looked back and forth: the Takishima heir leaning against his arm next to the window and the Taishou heir staring at the other side. She felt like these two weren't getting along, and she has no clue what it was. Sure in the past, she was now aware of people being infatuated by her smile and cute face, but now, she was still the dense Hikari. She frowned and asked the two men.

"Takishima? Onii-sama?" Those two men mirrored each other's moves and looked at her with calm and slightly irritated eyes. Her frown went deeper, and her mind blurted out a question.

"Are… you two happy?" Hikari regretted asking that question as those two serious men were startled by her question and later had the irritated face.

"Of course we are!" Hikari was surprised, blinking at the men who noticed that they were talking at the same time and now glaring at each other. Her frown struggled from smiling, and Hikari tried to suppress the smile. However, her smile won against her resistance, and Hikari giggled. Despite the serious and annoyed faces they were giving her, she couldn't help but find this funny to see them say at the same time and express the same emotion.

"You guys…" She giggled again, trying not to burst out loud laughing,

"You mimicked each other… unconsciously. It's too funny." Hikari's shoulders were shaking, and her giggles woke up the sleeping residents. Sui yawned, and Namaka groaned out a "… Hika-nee-saaaan. You woke me up." Kenbo blinked to wake herself up to see her adopted grandchild giggling madly, wondering what was so funny. Unknown to all of them, Kei and Kimajime were smiling.

**Okay… criticisms please? And don't expect too much out of this. I won't be updating until college is over until May or an eariler month.**


	9. Is this home?

**Me: Whee! I'm happy! I changed my major, my hairstyle, and my wardrobe. One) I like it, and Two) Bring on the classes!**

**CTE: I don't like the clothes, but damn. This hairstyle does cover my left eye. I could probably get the demonic eye now.**

**SAN: … I like the clothes.**

**Me: Hey! How about changing your clothes? Let's say… I'll make it level 2!**

**CTE: …**

**SAN: …**

**CTE: … Go ahead.**

**Me: I don't own S.A, and don't expect this story to be updated too much.**

Chapter 9: Is this home?

It was eight o' clock in the morning, and birds were chirping as the sun was rising. The maids and butlers were cleaning up the rooms, and the windows were fixed, removing the bulletproof glasses and concealing the holes of the bolts. In a certain room, one resident was still sleeping under the warm covers next to a neatly, clean bed. A knock was heard from outside, and the resident jerked awake before throwing the cover off from her upper body.

"Hanazono-sama? Are you awake?" A maid's voice called out from behind the thick doors. The black-haired woman sighed in relief and flopped back to her bed.

"Hai. You can come in." The door opened to reveal a maid coming in and holding a tray of breakfast: a plate of Sunnyside eggs with bacon on the side, a small plate of toast, a cup of water, and two pills of painkillers.

"Breakfast is ready, Hanazono-sama." The maid said as she placed the tray on the small table beside her. Hikari sat up and raised her arms to stretch the stiff muscles, feeling the strain off of her shoulders. She glanced at the food beside her and observed it. Before she could tell the maid that she could eat in the dining room, the maid explained to her.

"The elder Taishou-sama asked me to bring a simple breakfast for you before she left for a meeting. It was her order."

Oh.

So that's why. It was a simple meal, but Hikari would have to keep her strength up a bit. Hikari nodded, thanking her and asking her to leave. The maid shook her head and answered her confused look.

"Takishima-sama has requested to me to provide you any help you need or any questions to answer." The Hanazono woman sighed and nodded in defeat. Well… at least that she wasn't tied down to the bed like the few missions that brought her wounds and scars. Hikari threw the covers off of her body and swung her legs over. The Hanazono woman was wearing light blue pajamas, and newly replaced bandages were around her healed leg. Hikari tried to reason them that she was all right after the recovery, but Kei said that it is a precaution just in case the wound opens again.

_Yeah, right._ Hikari huffed at her thought and clapped her hands together, saying her thanks. She immediately grabbed the fork and knives and began to devour the meal. While she was eating her breakfast, Hikari pondered about what to do today.

_I don't have any plans today or any objectives assigned to me since Obaa-san and Onii-sama said to take a break. I'll just think about what to do next. Let's see. Obaa-san and Onii-sama are out of the country for meetings, and Namaka-chan is in Sui's elementary school as a transfer student. I wish good luck to them, especially Namaka-chan. I heard that Tony-san is back to his hometown to see his folks, but I don't know the rest of my team. _Hikari sighed and berated herself for being so pathetic to know where her comrades were.

"Is there something you need, Hanazono-sama?" The Hanazono survivor totally forgot that the maid was beside her and mentally kicked herself for wandering in her thoughts. Hikari glanced at the maid and nodded.

"Hai. Do you know where my teammates are? I know where my family are, but I don't know where are my other teammates." The maid answered.

"Very well, Hanazono-sama. Tony-sama is with his family in another town for the rest of the vacation. Nicky-sama is currently in the hospital, treating others who were injured in the recent mission. David-sama and Sean-sama went back to America, and Michael-sama went with Taishou-sama for the meeting." Hikari nodded, but she felt a little disappointed and sad. She was hoping that some of her teammates would keep her company, but they have some things to do or left the residence. Hikari took a bite out of her eggs, not savoring the flavor like she used to. A sudden image of Kei popped up in her mind, and Hikari asked the maid.

"Where is Takishima?" The maid smiled.

"Kei-sama is still here and working upstairs. He is currently waiting for you after you finish your meal and your dental hygenes." Hikari nodded and ate the last piece of bacon. She took the painkillers and swallowed them, grimacing at the difficulty of taking the medicine. Hikari rarely took any medicine because the doctors told her that her quick recovery would heal her wounds. If she really needed to take medicine or painkillers, then she would have to go through intensive surgery that would really involve a fifty percent chance of survival. Therefore, those wounds she endured left scars on her body, especially one on her forehead. Hikari removed the tray from her lap and placed it on the small table. Hikari tried to stand up, but her bandages tightened around her leg and let her fall back on the bed.

"Hanazono-sama? Daijoubou?" The maid was immediately at her side with a worried face. Hikari sheepishly smiled and held her hand out.

"Gomen nasai. I need a little help until I'm used to walk on my own." The maid smiled gently and held her hand, pulled Hikari to her wobbling feet, and let Hikari lean on her with her arm wrapped around the maid's shoulder.

"Arigatou gozaimasu." Hikari said as she took each step slowly but correctly. The maid smiled at Hikari.

"Iie. I should be thanking you for bringing Kei-sama's smile again."

0000

Kei pondered, wondering if he made the correct decision. He was staring at his computer with a window that had sent his email to important people, and Kei was debating whether it was a smart thing to do. He also wondered about Hikari's expression to the news he would be giving her. He reminded himself that after Hikari's mission is complete and a chance for her staying in Japan for a few days or months he would make a welcome back party with others. Knocks interrupted his thoughts, and a voice was heard from outside.

"Kei-sama. Hanazono-sama is here." The maid stated, and a slight shuffle and mutter was heard outside. However, he knew that the muttering voice belonged to Hikari who sounded like she was nervous around the maid.

"Come in." He commanded, and the door opened. The maid opened the door as Hikari was holding onto the maid's shoulder for support. The sight of Hikari always surprises him to no end, and sometimes, he would think it was a dream. She was no longer wearing her uniform like she would usually does a week ago. It was just a simple red t-shirt and grey sweatpants to move easily. It would be just like those normal times in their high school days.

"Do you still need me for support, Hanazono-sama?" Hikari smiled gently and released her shoulder.

"It's all right. I'm fine. I can walk by myself. Arigatou gozaimas." The maid bowed to both Kei and Hikari and left, closing the door for their privacy. When the maid was far from their hearing range, Hikari looked at Kei straight in the eye and smiled at him.

"Ohayo, Takishima!" Her smile was still contagious as ever. Kei stood up, walking toward Hikari and smiled at her. This smile was genuine, but he just smiled innocently just for fun.

"Ohayo, Hikari. Did you have a good sleep this morning?" Hikari seemed to irk at his face but nodded. Something about that smile seemed to piss her off like he was planning something behind her back, but this smile seemed to piss her off in a good way. Probably, she missed him pissing her off like when they were in high school. She smiled back but purposely put a forced smile to test how long she could put up with his attitude.

"Hai. It's been a while since I had a decent sleep." Kei repeated the word in confusion and sounded worried.

" 'Decent?'" Hikari blinked and nodded, no longer putting up the forced smile.

"It's because of the recent mission. I had to stay up all night to take watch for my team and to prepare for the enemy's entrance. Therefore, the only sleep I had been after the missions." She laughed it off like it was just a trivial problem. For her, it might be her daily routine when she was living with the Taishou family. For Kei, he felt like he wanted to kill Kimajime with his bare hands for letting her living like that.

"Oh…" He didn't recognize that his tone was sending out a dangerous vibe, but when he spotted Hikari flinching, Kei immediately regretted from losing control of his emotions. Hikari stepped back a little and looked scared like a little rabbit.

"Gomen, Takishima. Was there something I said that made you mad?" Kei shook his head and stepped closer.

"Gomen nasai, Hikari. I wasn't mad. It's just that… I'm upset that you have to go through all this without anyone to help you." Hikari smiled and walked close to her former rival. Her hand lightly touched his cheek before cupping his face.

"It's all right. I understand. I did make everyone worry when I left…" Hikari looked down, and Kei could see her cheeks turning red without looking into her eyes.

" … especially you, Takishima." Kei felt his heart melting and pumping faster, and the Takishima heir felt more alive. He was first relieved that Hikari was alive and safe, but now hearing her talk about him made him happy to some extent. He smiled and hugged her without reason. He felt her stiffen a bit, but she later relaxed and hugged him back. His breath hitched at her response to his hug, and his mind was in a sanctuary that he never knew. For a long time, that hidden sanctuary was his peace and quiet place.

"KEEEEEEIIIII!!" He felt pain under his chin and later a tight squeeze on his lungs.

" YOU BASTARD!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHERE'S HIKARI?!" Kei cursed at the voice under his feet, not expecting them to come here earlier than usual. He looked down at the Hanazono survivor who looked toward the door and chuckled. She looked surprised, and Hikari was clinging to Kei like a small child scared of a small puppy. Hikari looked at him and pointed outside.

"Was that…" Kei nodded with a smile and pushed her back to the door.

"Come on, Hikari. Let's see our friends."

0000

"GET OVER HERE AND TELL ME WHERE HIKARI IS, YOU SHAMELESS BASTARD!!" That said person was screaming so loud that everyone was quivering in fear behind objects around the place. Panting and breathing harshly, Akira Toudou stood in the middle of the entrance in rage and determination. She still wore her hair short and wore her casual clothes fit for the Spring season: a light violet tank top, blue jeans, and high heeled sandals, but her eyes had the fire that would make spring into a hot summer. They could remember the young master's friends and how they act, but seeing this woman's beyond angry expression made them having shivers down their spine.

"A-Akira? Kei's coming, and Hikari's here as well. Don't worry. We're going to see her today." The adventurous young man tried to calm down his girlfriend from tearing down the place. Tadashi Karino wore a forest green suit, brown dress shoes, and a loosen tie since he was going to take over his mother's place as director of Hakusenkan Academy. He couldn't remove the suit, so he loosened the tie and ruffled his hair back to his wild state. Without a warning, the Toudou woman began stomping on him in rage. Therefore, he was gaining pain from the tempered woman.

"We didn't see Hikari for years and were worried about her if she was dead or not, and you are telling me to calm down?!" Akira screeched, as she mauled her boyfriend for being an idiot.

"A-Akira! Itai! Okay! Gomen nasai! Yeow!" Tadashi was no longer beaten up, but he seemed to be unrecognizable on the ground. His hand was twitching in pain, and the only source of him being alive was the sound of painful groans. Sounds of knocking on the entrance doors caught everyone's attention away from the Karino man, and a maid courageously opened the door and answered.

"H-Hai?"

"Ah… sumimasen. Are Akira Toudou and Tadashi Karino here?" Immediately recognizing that voice, the maid nodded and opened the door fully.

"H-Hai! They just arrived here, so come inside." Three figures appeared behind the bright sunlight, and Akira huffed, scolding them.

"Where were you, three? I thought you were coming to meet us at the entrance." The older person of the group gave her a nervous smile and answered.

"Ah… gomen nasai, Akira. I had to pick up Jun and Megumi from the concert, and the drive took longer than we expected." Ryuu Tsuji apologized to his friend while patting his childhood friends on the head. Grown up as a handsome young man, Ryuu has distinguished features as an adult such as losing his baby fat and having a slightly longer hair. He wore a brown suit with black dress shoes, but he didn't wear a tie since he was just picking up his childhood friends.

Jun Yamamoto and his older twin sister, Megumi, grew a little taller, but they were still short since they stood up where Akira's chin is. Jun was taller than his older sister, but he still had the young face like when he was in Hakusenkan Academy. He wore a light violet-buttoned collar shirt and brown pants since he changed back into his casual wear instead staying in his suit for his own concert. Megumi wore a baby blue blouse and a yellow frilled skirt that reached under her knees, and she was carrying an erasable pad to speak instead of her voice.

_There are still others coming since they just left their own meeting._ Megumi wrote on the erasable pad, and Akira sighed.

"I know those two would immediately come, but what about _her_?" Ryuu seemed to know whom Akira was talking about, and he reassured her.

"I'll tell her about Hikari. She'll understand." Akira nodded, feeling somewhat relieved to know that she would understand Hikari's situation.

"So… where's Hikari?" Jun asked. Right after Jun asked, they heard rapid footsteps echoing the mansion.

"Akira?! Where are you?!" They knew that voice in a heartbeat.

"Hikari?!" Akira shouted and ran up the stairs with Tadashi following behind her.

"Akira! Wait up!" Ryuu shouted as he followed after the two, and the Yamamoto twins followed them because they want to see Hikari as much as Akira does. When they reached to the top floor, the door where it leads to Kei's room slammed open to reveal their long lost friend who had her hair flowing to her current speed. They all gasped at the sight of her being alive and well, and Hikari seemed to hold her breath and to shake in happiness and anxiety.

"Akira? Tadashi? Ryuu? Jun and Megumi?" The moment she spoke out their names in a shaky breath caused Akira to run straight at her best friend, wrapping her arms around her and crying on her shoulder in relief and happiness.

"Hikari! You're alive!" Jun and Megumi ran up to Hikari and hugged her with tears in their eyes, crying with Akira to join the moment.

"Hikari!"

_We were worried about you! We all thought you died!_ Megumi wrote out for Hikari to see, but Hikari's eyes had a gentle shine. She didn't smile, but she did had the happiness and sadness mixed together in her eyes. Hikari hugged her friends and whispered.

"Gomen nasai. I did make everyone worry." Akira and the Yamamoto twins hugged her tightly, responding to her apology and being glad to have their friend back. Tadashi and Ryuu stood back to see their friends reunited after the long separation, but they too were glad to have their friend alive. The small group broke up from their joyful event, and Akira asked in worry.

"Where have you been, Hikari?! Everyone was worried about you, including me." Tadashi nodded in agreement.

"It's been three years, and all of us though you died in the fire. You could have written us or call us that you are alive somewhere." Hikari smiled sheepishly and rubbed her neck.

"It's a long story and a lot of complications."

"Like your adopted family preventing you from contacting us?" Everyone's attention was on the Takishima heir, and Hikari screeched.

"Takishima! They were protecting me, not preventing me!" Without a warning, Akira stomped up to her childhood friend with a murderous glare.

"You!" The tempered woman grabbed Kei's collar and lifted him up. Even though she was shorter than the man, the Toudou woman had the strength of a bear that would take anyone down if it involves with Hikari… and it does involve the survivor.

"A-Akira? Calm down." Hikari was about to pry her away from her former rival, but Akira growled out like a lioness that just caught her prey.

"Hikari, stay away from this." Everyone froze on the spot when they hear Akira, the best friend of Hikari, growled at the Hanazono survivor. Hikari was surprised from Akira's reaction and stepped back, letting Akira do what she wanted. Kei understood what Akira was going to do, but he blinked in surprise when Akira had that tone in her voice. Akira would never tell Hikari to stay away, but she sounded very serious when she actually told Hikari to back off.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Akira screeched right in front of Kei's face, and everyone, except Kei, jumped in fright. Maids and butlers dived back to their hiding spots, and the courageous maid who opened the door hid behind the large vase. Jun and Megumi hid behind Ryuu, and Tadashi took cover behind Hikari. The two people who didn't hide anywhere stayed in one place to be the pillar of strength, but even sometimes the pillars quake in fear.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us that Hikari was here and alive?! Do you know how much I… we were worried sick about her?!" Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, and she loosened her grip. She tried to wipe away the droplets, but they continued to fall.

"When we heard about the news about the fire where Hikari and her family lived, we all got so scared about her and drove all the way there. When we got there, the whole house was engulfed into flames, and the only source of Hikari was a pool of blood on the ground. We asked the police where Hikari was, but they couldn't tell us because someone made it a confidential case." Kei and Hikari knew that it was either the Taishou heir or the grandmother preventing information of her whereabouts, but they didn't know how much pain their friends were in.

"After the fire was gone, her family's bodies were charred so badly that they were unrecognizable until they were confirmed. The police wouldn't tell us where Hikari is, but we all knew that she was alive. Three years… for three damn years, we all were still mourning for her, and now you tell us that Hikari was here in a week!! Why didn't you call us when she came back?!" Akira's hands covered her face and sobbed. Kei looked guilty while watching his childhood friend break down emotionally for so long. Looking around to see his friends, they all reflected on how Akira felt during those three suffering years. However, Hikari was the one who was taking the hardest.

"Akira…" The Hanazono survivor whispered as her heart grew tighter. Hearing about the aftermath of her home and family, the despair her friends went through, and Kei's heartbreak when he heard about her disappearance… Hikari couldn't bear to withstand the pain. Hikari ran to her best friend and hugged her in comfort. Akira sobbed in her arms and hugged her in happiness, feeling that this woman was truly alive. Hikari looked at her friends and back to Kei, both relieved and happy to see their happiness.

"Come in, everyone. I have a story to tell you."

0000

"NYA!!! You are a meanie!!" A little girl's voice whined as she glared at the older boy beside her. The boy smirked and shrugged, pretending to not know what she was talking about.

"I have no clue what you are whining, but it's not my fault." It was in the afternoon, so all children are sent home. Wearing a middle school uniform and the little girl wearing an elementary school uniform, they were bickering like siblings would do after coming back home. However, this argument involved with an infuriated girl and an amused boy. The girl's cheeks puffed up and crossed her arms.

"You said that there was a kitty stuck on a tree! You tricked me there, Sui!" Sui Takishima shrugged.

"I did say that a kitten was stuck on the tree, and that kitten had a name called Namaka." Namaka Taishou screeched out loud and threw her backpack on the ground.

"That's it!" She tied her hair into high pigtails and got into a fighting stance that she learned in Judo class.

"Come here! I'll show you how bad a kitty bites and scratches!" Sui shrugged and threw his backpack on the ground.

"Well? Come here, kitty." Namaka's face was so red that Sui snickered in amusement. When she heard him chuckle, the Taishou child gave out a war cry and charged straight at the Takishima boy, preparing herself to show the wrath of a Taishou member. Before Namaka could pound the boy on the face and Sui catching her wrist without much movement, the two children suddenly saw their world falling to the ground and their whole bodies crashing down.

"Calm down, Namaka!"

"That's enough, Sui!"

Oh snap…

The two children recognized those older voices, and their tones meant that they were going to get into trouble.

"Hika-nee-san!! Sui-no-baka made fun of me!" Hikari huffed and scolded her younger counterpart.

"Don't 'Hika-nee-san' me, Namaka! You know better than to attack someone offensively. You got angry and decided to throw in the first punch without a reason why you would attack someone other than defending other people. Didn't I tell you that you are meant to protect people, not hurt them?" Namaka flinched but nodded. What Hikari was saying was true, and Namaka took advantage on those moves for revenge. It was selfish of Namaka, so she bowed.

"Gomen nasai, Hika-nee-san." Hikari sighed and glanced at Kei and Sui. Kei has been better acting as a mature older brother, and seeing Sui wince made her somewhat proud of him. When she heard that Kei scolded both of the children at lunch, Hikari was amazed that Kei took up the role as an older brother seriously, and she was happy that she wasn't the only person trying to keep Namaka in line. Now… she just need Kimajime to act as an older brother and watch over his little sister while Hikari would take a break.

"Whoa… I've never seen Kei mad in a way that leaves his victims _alive_- Oof!" All attention turned to the group of people at the entrance, and Namaka ran up to the group. She stared at the group of older people, as they stared at her with a surprised expression. Namaka tilted her head and smiled.

"Konichiwa! I'm Namaka Taishou!" The smile was so contagious that Akira squealed and scooped up the surprised little girl in her arms.

"Kawaii! She looks just like Hikari-chan!" Akira rubbed her cheek against hers. It was true. The group thought that the little girl who looked like Hikari was her daughter, but Hikari clarified that she was a cousin to her before they would meet her. Tadashi joked that there may be a possibility that Namaka could be Hikari's daughter, but the poor man learned to shut up when Akira elbowed him on the ribs, knowing that his girlfriend would kill him if he said so much about Hikari. Looking at Kei, he did have that murderous glare straight at Tadashi, and Tadashi would never joke around that involves Hikari or Namaka.

"Sugoi. Namaka-chan does look like Hikari when she was young." Jun smiled, and Megumi wrote on her board "You look like Hikari when she was young, Namaka-chan" to the young girl with a star. Namaka blushed and hid her face on Akira's shoulder, thanking them for the compliment.

"A-Arigatou gozaimasu."

"Aw… Namaka-chan is so cute when she's shy!" Akira patted her back.

"Don't worry! Nee-chan would take care of you like Hikari-chan does!" Namaka was still embarrassed when she didn't look up, and Hikari smiled.

"Hikariiii!!" The Hanazono woman turned around to see a pink-haired woman with a large stomach, running straight to her and glomping the woman.

"S-Sakura-chan?!" She looked at her friend and held her carefully to not hurt the fetus in her stomach. Sakura didn't look like she aged, but she did have that motherly look on her face. She wore a green sweater over her yellow frilled dress, and the frilled skirt covered her stomach. Sakura also wore a dark violet pants and white shoes to make herself comfortable from her pregnancy.

"Well… if it isn't Hikari coming back from the dead." Hikari knew that voice mean no harm and smiled at that source of tone.

"Yahiro!" The young man smirked as he waved a hello. He wore a white suit with black linings on his collar and pocket, and a black tie and jet-black dress shoes contrasted the brightness of his white suit. His hair was a bit longer like Ryuu's hair, but he still kept his hair into a small low ponytail.

"You should have told us that you were alive, Hikari!" Sakura shouted as she pulled herself away from the survivor. Hikari wanted to repeat her answer like she did with Akira, but Sakura continued.

"Ah… but that doesn't matter. Welcome back home!" Hikari smiled and nodded.

"I am home…" Everyone grinned when Hikari whispered those words to herself. For three years of disappearing from everyone's lives and coming back with so many struggles, she was indeed home.

"Oy! Minna-san! I got the stuff you wanted for-" Hikari's eyes widened as she looked beyond the distance to where Yahiro was standing. Short blond hair and emerald green colored eyes, this young man wore baby blue pants, an embroiled yellow shirt that had red-lined flowers the reached up to the woman's underarm, and a gray hooded zip-up sweater. However, Hikari knew that this man was actually a woman.

"Hikari?!" The young woman shouted in surprise, and Hikari said her name.

"Finn?" The group was surprised that Hikari and the woman knew each other, but what's surprising was that they had a history together without them knowing. Kei asked his former rival.

"Hikari? How did you know Finn?"

**Me: Man… that was long.**

**SAN: I'm worried about our classes. We were able to get into two classes and one class in our waiting list, but we weren't able to get into the other two classes. What happens now?**

**CTE: Are you stupid? We have to go to a community college to fill up the classes!**

**Me: Due to complications and college work, we are currently putting up all stories into hiatus until we finish a chapter. When we update, it will be again put into hiatus. Don't expect this story to be updated a lot.**


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